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SHAKESPEARE. 

Bathed in mists of Penmaen Maur, 
Taught by Plinlimmon's Druid power, 
England's genius filled all measure 
Of heart and soul, of mind and pleasure, 
Gave to the race its em23eror, 
And life was larger than before, 
Nor sequent centuries could hit 
Orbit and sum of Shakespeare's wit. 

Emeeson. 



SHAKESPEAEE'S 



TRAGEDY OF 



MACBETH 



EDITED, WITH NOTES, 






HOMER BrlSPRAGUE, A. M., Ph. D., 

! 

rORittERLT PROFESSOR IN CORNELL UNIVERSITY, HEAD MASTER OP THE GIRLS' 

HIGH-SCHOOL, BOSTON, AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 

NORTH DAKOTA. 

WITH 

CEITICAL COMMENTS, ELOCUTIONARY ANALYSIS WITH 

SUGGESTIONS FOR EXPRESSIVE READING, PLANS 

FOR THE STUDY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE, 

AND SPECIMENS OF EXAMINATION 

PAPERS. 



( mi. 5 1889 ^>} 

PUBLISHED BY \J^'^SH(nGTOV^' 

S. R. WINCHELL & CO. 
CHICAGO. 



COPYKIGHT, 1889, 

Br Homer B. Sprague. 



PREFACE. 



This edition of Macbeth is intended to meet the special needs of 
students, but it is hoped that the general reader may find it useful. 
It is believed to differ from all other school editions in important 
respects. 

First, The notes, though copious, are arranged upon the principle 
of stimulating rather than superseding thought. A glance at any 
page will show this. 

Secondly, It gives results of the latest etymological and critical 
research. 

Thirdly, It gives the opinions of some of the best critics on al- 
most all disputed interpretations. 

Fourthly, It presents the best methods of studying English Litera- 
ture by class exercises, by essays, and by examinations. (See the 
Appendix.) 

Fifthly, It presents an Elocutionary Analysis with suggestions 
for Expressive Reading. 

Sixthly, It gives a map of Scotland, showing the important local- 
ities in the play. 

It is proper to add that we have not deviated so largely as other 
editors have felt at liberty to do from the original folio text, and in 
several instances we have even ventured to differ from all others in 
adhering to it. In justification of this boldness we have suggested 
new interpretations of some disputed passages, or new reasons for 
retaining the old reading; as, e. g., I, iii, 92, 93, "Which should be 
thine or his;" I, vi, 9, "Where they must breed and haunt;" II, i, 
55, "Tarquin's ravishing sides;" III, iv, 105, "If trembling I in- 
habit then;" IV, i, 97, " Rebellious dead, rise never;" etc. 

Homer B. Spkague. 

University op North Dakota, 
April, 1889. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Inteoduction to Macbeth 11 

Early Editions. — Dowden's Summary. — Earliest Account 
of the Play. — Sources of the Plot. — Sir Walter Scott's 
Account of Macbeth. — Holinshed's Story 15 

CKITICL COMMENTS 27 >V 

Johnson. — Steevens. — Whately. — John Philip Kemble. — 
Coleridge.— Schlegel.— Hazlitt. — Mrs. Jameson. — Camp- 
bell. — Mrs. Siddons. — Joseph Hunter. — Fletcher. — 
Ulrici. — Hudson, 1848. — DeQuincey. — Mezieres. — Ger- 
vinus. — Flathe. — Heraud. — Lamartine. — Bodenstedt. — 
Lowell. — Petri. — Leo. — Bucknill. — Weiss. — Dowden. 

— Hudson, 1879. — White. — Morley 45 

explanatioks , . 48 

Macbeth 49 

Appendix: 

Elocutionaky Analysis and Suggestions for Expres- 
sive Reading 199 

Song in Middleton's Witch 208 

Specimen Examination Papers 209 

Topics for Essays 215 

Index . 216 

Map op Scotland 226 

How to Study English Literature 227 



Far from the sun and summer gale, 
In thy green lajo was Nature's Darling laid, 
What time, where lucid Avon stray'd. 

To him the mighty mother did unveil 
Her awful face: the dauntless child 
Stretch'd forth his little arms and smiled. 
<'This pencil take," she said, " whose colors clear 

Richly paint the vernal year: 
Thine too these golden keys, immortal Boy! 

This can unlock the gates of joy; 

Of horror that and thrilling fears. 
Or ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears." 

Gkay. 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 



EARLY EDITIONS. 

Macbeth appears to have been printed for the first time in the 
1st folio edition of Shakespeare's works in 1623. The 2d folio saw 
the light in 1632. It contains numerous slight deviations from the 
text of the 1st. The 3d folio was published in 1664; the 4th in 1685. 

dowden's summary as to the date, origin, and possible inter- 
polations OF THE PLAY. 

Macbeth was seen acted at the Globe by Dr. Forman on April 
20, 1610. But the characteristics of versification forbid us to place 
it after Pericles and Antony and Cleopatra^ or very near The Tempest. 
Light endings [of verses] begin to appear in considerable numbers 
in Macbeth (twenty-one is the precise number), but of weak endings 
it contains only two*. Upon the whole, the internal evidence sup- 
ports the opinion of Malone, that the play was written about 1606. 
The words in Macbeth's vision of the kings, in the first scene of 
the fourth act, 

Some I see 
That two-fold balls and treble sceptres carry, 

refer to the union of the two kingdoms under James I. James had 
revived the practice of touching for the king's evil, described in the 
third scene of the fourth act. In the third scene of the second act the 
words, "Here's a farmer that hanged himself on the expectation of 
plenty," may have reference to the unusually low price of wheat in 
the summer and autumn of 1606. "Here's an equivocator that could 
swear in both scales against either scale; who committed treason 
enough for God's sake; yet could not equivocate to heaven " (in the 
third scene of the second act) has been supposed to allude to the 
doctrine of equivjcation, avowed by Henry Garnet, Superior of the 
Order of Jesuits in England, on his trial for the gunpowder treason, 

* By "light endings,'" which are hardly found at all in Shakespeare's earliest 
plays, he means monosyllabic words on which the voice can to a small extent dwell, 
such as am, are, be, can, could, do, does, has, had, I, they, thou, etc. By "weak 
endings'" he means words so slight in soimd, and so closely connectedln sense 
with the following, that we are forced to run them into the closept connection 
with the first words of the next line. Such weak endings are and, for, from, if. 
in, of, or, etc. Light and weak endings abound in Shakespeare's latest plays. 



12 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

March 28, 1606, and to his perjury on that occasion. In 1611 -the 
^host of Banquo was jestingly alluded to in Beaumont and Fletcher's 
Knight of the Burning Pestle.^ ^ 

The materials for his play Shakespeare found in Holinshed's 
Chronicle (1579), connecting the portion which treats of Diincan^nd 
Macbeth with Holinshed's account of the murder of King DnfEB by 
Donwald. "The appearance of Banquo's ghost, and the sleep-walk- 
ing of Lady Macbeth, appear to be inventions of the dramatist. 

Thomas Middleton's play of The Witch, discovered in MS. in 1779, 
contains many points of resemblance to Macbeth. The Cambridge 
editors, Messrs. Clark and Wright, are of opinion that Macbeth was 
interpolated with passages by a second author — not improbably by 
Middleton — after Shakespeare's death, or after he had ceased to be 
connected with the theatre; the interpolator expanded the parts 
assigned to the weird sisters, and introduced a new character, Hecate. 
The following passages are pointed out as the supposed interpola- 
tions: Act I, ii; iii, 1 to 37; II, i,61; iii (Porter's part); III, v; IV, i, 39 
to 47; 125 to 132; iii, 140 to 159; V, v, 47 to 50; viii, 32 to 33 (Before 
my body I throw, etc.), and 35 to 75. This theory of interpolation 
must be considered as in a high degree doubtful, and in particular the 
Porter's part shows the hand of Shakespeare. As to Middleton's 
The Witch, it was probably of later date than Shakespeare's play. 

EARLIEST ACCOUNT OF THE PliAY. 

In the Bodleian Library at Oxford is preserved a MS. diary of one 
Dr. Simon Foiman, containing* what appears to be the earliest ac- 
count of this tragedy. It is as follows: 

"In Macbeth, at the Globe, 1610, the 20th of April, Saturday, there 
was to be observed first how Macbeth and Banquo, two noblemen of 
Scotland, riding through a wood, there stood before them three women, 
fairies or nymphs, and saluted Macbeth, saying three times unto him. 
Hail, Macbeth, King of Codor, for thou shall be a king, but shall be- 
get no kings, etc. Then said Banquo, What, all to Macbeth and noth- 
ing to me i Yes, said the nymphs. Hail, to thee, Banquo ; thou shall 
beget kings, yet be no king. And so they departed, and came to the 
Court of Scotland, to Duncan King of Scots, and it was in the days of 
Edward the Confessor. And Duncan bade them both kindly welcome, 
and made Macbeth [sic] forthwith Prince of Northumberland, and 

*"When thou art at the table with thy friends, 
Merry in heart and fllled with swelling wine, 
I'll come in midst of all thy pride and mirth, 
Invisible to all men but thyself.'" 
Mr. Halliwell quotes trom The Puritan, printed in 1607, "We"'ll ha' the ghost 
1' th' white sheet sit at upper end o' th' table." 

Rolfe remarks that the accession of James (1603) made Scottish subjects 
popular in England and the tale of Macbeth and Banquo would be one of the 
first to be brought forward, as Banquo was held to be an ancestor of the new 
king. 

In the Registers of the Stationers' Company, Aug. 27, 1.596, is the entry of a 
"Ballad of Makdobeth." In Kemp's Nine Bays' T^onder, 1600, the same piece 
appears to be referred to as a "miserable stolne story" by "a penny poet." 
When King James visited Oxford, 1605, an Interlude in Latin on Macbeth and 
Banquo was performed in his honor. 



INTROVUCTION TO MACBETH. 13 

sent him Jiome to his own castle, and appointed Macbeth to provide for 
him, for he would sup with him the next day at night, and did so. 
And Macbeth contrived to kill Duncan, and through the persuasion of 
his wife did that night murder the king in his own castle, being his 
guest. And there were many prodigies seen that night and the day 
before. And when Macbeth had murdered the king, the blood on his 
hands could not be washed off by any means, nor from his wife's hands, 
which handled the bloody daggers in hiding them, by which means they 
became both much amazed and affronted. The murder being known, Dun- 
can's two sons fled, the one to England, the [other to] Wales, to save 
themselves ; they being fled, they were supposed guilty of the murder of 
their father, which was nothing so. Then was Macbeth crowned king, 
and then for fear of Banquo, his old companion, that he should beget 
kings but be no king himself, he contrived the death of Banquo, and ^ 
caused him to be murdered on the way as he rode. The next night, being ' 
at supper with his noblemen, whom he had bid to a feast, to the which 
also Banquo should have come, he began to speak of noble Banquo, and 
to wish that he were there. And as he thus did, standing up to drink a 
carouse to him, the ghost of Banquo came and sat down in his chair 
behind him. And he, turning about to sit down again, saw the ghost 
of Banquo, which fronted him so that he fell in a great passion of fear 
and fury, uttering many words about his murder, by which, when they 
heard that Banquo was murdered, they suspected Macbeth. Then 
Macduff fled to England to the king's son, and so they raised an army 
and came into Scotland, and at Dunscenanyse overthrew Macbeth. In 
the mean time, while Macduff was in England, Macbeth slew Mac- 
duff's wife and children, and after, in the battle, Macduff slew Mac- 
beth. Observe also how Macbeth' s Queen did rise in the night in her 
sleep, and walked, and talked and confessed all, and the Doctor noted 
her words." 

SOUKCE OF THE PLOT OF MACBETH. 

In his invaluable Variorum edition, Furness remarks, p. 355: 
" The historical incidents (if a medley of fable and tradition may be 
accounted historical) in the tragedy of ' Macbeth ' are found in the 
Scotorum Histories, of Hector Boece, first printed at Paris in 15<J6. 
This Boece, or Boyce, was the first principal of King's College, 
Aberdeen, and his work was translated into the Scotch dialect by 
John Bellenden, arch deacon of Moray, in 1541. Messrs. Clark and 
Wright say that 'there is reason to think that Holinshed consulted 
this translation. The name Macbeth itself may even have been 
taken from Bellenden, as a rendering of the ' Maccabseus ' of Boece, 
. . . Holinshed is Shakespeare's authority. Hector Boece is Hol- 
inshed's, and Boece follows Fordun, adding to him, however, very 
freely.' " 

"The whole story," says Rev. C. E. Moberly in the Rugby edition 
of Macbeth, ' is told in doggerel rhymes by the author of a book 
called ' Albion's England,' published just before Queen Elizabeth's 
death;* and the ' Proirresses of King James' tell us that in 1605 the 
members of the University of Oxford rehearsed it by way of wel- 

*The first Pfiition was published in 1.586, hut the "Continuance," containing 
the story of Macbeth in the loth book, did not appear till lb06. 



14 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 



come to the king, in Latin hexameters hardly better in quality. A 
specimen of the ' hexameters ' is worth giving: 

' Banqiionem agnovit generosa Loquabria Thanum ; 
Nee tibi, Banquo, tuis sed sceptra nepotibus illae 
Immortalibus immortalia vaticinatae.* 

It had indeed, before this, been told by Buchanan, in his classical 
Latin prose; but the source from which Shakespeare mainly derived 
it was Holinshed's Chronicles." 

SIR WALTER SCOTT's ACCOUNT OF MACBETH. 

Duncan, by his mother Beatrice a grandson of Malcolm II, suc- 
ceeded to the throne on his grandfather's death, in 1033; he reigned 
only six years. Macbeth, his near relation, also a grandchild of 
Malcolm 11, though by the mother's side, was stirred up by ambition 
to contest the throne with the possessor. The Lady of Macbeth also, 
whose real name was Graoch, had deadly injuries to avenfife on the 
reigning prince. She Vv^as the granddaughter of Kenneth IV, killed 
1003, fighting against Malcolm II; and other causes for revenge ani- 
mated the mind of her who has been since painted as the sternest of 
women. The old annalists add some instigations of a supernatural 
kind to the influence of a vindictive woman over an ambitious hus- 
band. Three women, of more than human stature and beauty, 
appeared to Macbeth in a dream or vision, and hailed him succes- 
sively by the titles of Thane of Cromarty, Thane of Moray, which 
the king afterwards bestowed on him, and finally by that of King of 
Scots; this dream, it is said, inspired him with the seductive hopes 
so well expressed in the drama. 

Macbeth broke no law of hospitality in his attempt on Duncan's 
life. He attacked and slew the king at a place called Bothgowan, 
or the Smith's House, near Elgin, in 1089, and not, as has been sup- 
posed, in his own castle of Inverness. The act was bloody, as was 
the complexion of the times; but, in very truth, the claim of Macbeth 
to the throne, according to the rule of Scottish succession, was better 
than that of Duncan. As a king, the tyrant so much exclaimed 
against was, in reality, a firm, just, and equitable prince."]" Appre- 
hensions of danger from a party which Malcolm, the eldest son of 
the slaughtered Duncan, had set on foot in Northumberland, and still 
maintained in Scotland, seem, in process of time, to have soured the 
temper of Macbeth, and rendered him formidable to his nobility. 
Against Macduff, in particular, the powerful Maormor of Fife, he 
had uttered some threats which occasioned that chief to fly from 
the court of Scotland. Urged by this new counsellor, Siward, the 
Danish Earl of Northumberland, invaded Scotland in the year 1054, 

*'Generous Lochabria recognized Banquo as thane. Nor did those (weird sis- 
ters) foretell to thee, Banquo, a sceptre immortal, but to thy immortal descend- 
ants.'' 

f'All genuine Scottish tradition points to the reign of Macbeth as a period of 
unusual peace and prosperity in that disturbed land.'' 

Freeman's Norman Conquest, ii, p. 55. 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH, 15 

displaying his banner in behalf of the banished Malcolm. Macbeth 
engaged the foe in the neighborhood of his celebrated castle of 
Dunsinane. He was defeated, but escaped from the battle, and was 
slain at Lumphanan in 1056. 

holinshed's story of king duff's illness caused by witch- 
craft. 

[Abridged from Furness's ^^Macbeth.^^] 

In the meane time the king [Duffe, who began to reign A. D. 968] 
fell into a languishing disease, not so greeuous as strange, for that 
none of his physicians could perceiue what to make of tt. 

And sithens it appeared manifestlie by all outward signes and 
tokens, that naturall moisture did nothing faile in the vitall spirits, 
his colour also was fresh and f aire to behold, with such liuelines of 
looks, that more was not to be wished for; he had also a temperat 
desire and appetite to his meate & drinke, but yet could he not 
sleepe in the night time by any prouocations that could be deuised, 
but still fell into exceeding sweats, which by no means might be re- 
streined. 

But about that present time there was a murmuring amongst the 
people, how the king was vexed with no naturall sicknesse, but by 
sorcerie and magicall art, practised by a sort of witches dwelling in 
a towne of Murreyland, called Fores. 

Wherevpon, albeit the author of this secret talke was not 
knowne: yet being brought to the kings eare, it caused him to send 
foorthwith certeine wittie persons thither, to inquire of the truth. 
They that were thus sent, dissembling the cause of the iornie, were 
receiued in the darke of the night into the castell of Fores by the 
lieutenant of the same, called Donwald, who continuing faithfull to 
the king, had kept that castell against the rebels to the kings vse. 
Vnto him therefore these messengers declared the cause of their 
comming, requiring his aid for the accomplishment of the kings 
pleasure. 

Wherevpon learning by hir confession [the confession of the 

daughter of one of the witches] in what house in the towne it was 

where they wrought there mischievous mysterie, he sent f oorth soul- 

diers about the middest of the night, who breaking into the 

I, iii, 23. house, found one of the witches rosting vpon a woodden 
broch an image of wax at the fier, resembling in each 
feature the kings person, made and deuised (as is to be thought) by 
craft and art of the diuel : an other of them sat reciting certeine words 
of inchantment, and still basted the image with a certeine liquor verie 
busilie. 

The souldiers finding them occupied in this wise, tooke them 
togither with the image, and led them into the castell, where being 
3treictlie examined for what purpose they went about such manner 
of inchantment, they answered, to the end to make away the king; 
for as the image did waste afore the fire, so did the bodie of the king 



16 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

breake f oorth in sweat.* And as for the words of inchantment, they 
serued to keepe him still waking from sleepe, so that as the wax 
euer melted, so did the kings flesh: by the which meanes it should 
haue come to passe, that when the wax was once cleane consumed, the 
death of the king should immediatlie follow. So were they taught j 
by euill spirits, and hired to worke the feat by the nobles of Murrey- , 
land. The standers by, that heard such an abhominable tale told by 
these witches, streightwaies brake the image, and caused the witches 
(according as they had well deserued) to bee burnt to death. 

It was said that the king, at the verie same time that these 
things were a dooing within the castell of Fores, was deliuered of 
his languor, and slept that night without anie sweat breaking foorth 
vpon him at all, & the next daie being restored to his strength, was 
able to doo anie maner of thing that lay in man to doo, as though ,; 
he had not beene sicke before anie thing at all. ■ 

holinshed's description of the mubder of king duff by don- 
wald, who was urged on to the deed by his wife. 

Donwald thus being the more kindled in wrath by the words of his 
wife, determined to follow hir aduise in the execution of so heinous 
an act. Wherevpon deuising with himselfe for a while, which way 
hee might best accomplish his curssed intent, at length he gat 
opportunitie, and sped his purpose as follow eth. It chanced that 
the king vpon the daie before he purposed to depart foorth of the 
castell, was long in his oratorie at his praiers, and there continued 
till it was late in the night. At the last, coming foorth, he called 
such afore him as had faithfullie serued him in pursute and ap- 
prehension of the rebels, and giuing them heartie thanks, he be- 
stowed sundrie honorable gifts amongst them, of the which number 
Donwald was one, as he that had beene euer accounted a most faith- 
full seruantto the king. 

At length, hauing talked with them a long time, he got him 
into his priuie chamber, onelie with two of his chamber- 

I, vii, 63. lains, who hauing brought him to bed, came foorth againe, 
and then fell to banketting with Donwald and his wife, 
who had prepared diuerse delicate dishes, and sundrie sort of drinks 
for their reare supper or collation, wherat they sate vp so long, till 
they had charged their stomachs with such full gorges, that their heads 
were no sooner got to the pillow, but asleepe they were so fast, that 
a man might haue remooued the chamber ouer them, sooner than to 
haue awaked them out of their droonken sleepe. | 

Then Donwald, though he abhorred the act greatlie in his heart, | 

* Rolfe quotes from Theocritus (about the middle of the 3d century B. C), 1 
who represents a witch as melting a waxen image, and saying: 

tt)S TOVTOV Tov Kapov syto crvv Sat'/aovt xaKo), 
o'lS tolKolO' vn eptoTO? d MvvSios aiiTLKa AeA(/)is 

He quotes also Virgirs imitation of this in £JcL viii. 80: _ I 

Limus ut hie durescit, et haec ut cera liquescit | 

Uno eodemque igni, sic nostro Daphnis amore. j 

As this clay grows hard and this wax melts by one and the same fire, so 
may Daphnis by our love. 



INTRODUCTION TO MxiCBETH. 17 

yet through instigation of his wife, hee called foure of his seruants 
vnto him (whome he had made priuie to his wicked intent before, 
and framed to his purpose with large gifts) and now declaring vnto 
them, after what sort they should worke the feat, they gladlie obeied 
his instructions, & speedilie going about the murther, they enter the 
chamber (in which the king laie) a little before cocks crow, where 
they secretlie cut his throte as he lay sleeping, without anie busk- 
ling* at all : and immediatelie by a posterne gate they carried foorth 
the dead bodie into the fields, and throwing it vpon an horse there 
prouided readie for that purpose, they conuey it vnto a place, about 
two miles distant from the castell, where [they buried it in the bed of 
a little river]. For such an opinion men haue, that the dead corps 
of anie man being slaine,will bleed abundantlie if the murtherer be 
present. But for what consideration soeuer they buried him there, 
they had no sooner finished the work, but that they slue them whose 
helpe they vsed herein, and streightwaiestherevpoh fled into Orknie. 
Donwald, about the time that the murther was in dooing, got him 
amongst them that kept the watch, and so continued in companie 
with them all the residue of the night. But in the morning when the 
noise was raised in the king's chamber how the king was slain^, his 
bodie conueied away, and the bed all beraied with bloud; he with 
the watch ran thither, as though he had knowne nothing of the mat- 
ter, and breaking into the chamber, and finding cakes of bloud in the 
bed, and on the floore about the sides of it, he foorthwith slue the 
chamberleins, as guiltie of that heinous murther, and then like a 
mad man running to and fro, he ransacked euerie corner within the 
castell, as though it had beene to haue scene if he might haue found 
either the bodie, or aine of the murtherers hid in aine priuie place; 
but at length comming to the posterne gate, and finding it open, he 
burdened the chamberleins, whome he had slaine, with all the fault, 
they hauing the keies of the gates committed to their keeping all 
the night, and therefore it could not be otherwise (said he) but that 
they were of counsell in the committing of that most detestable 
murther. 

Finallie, such was his ouer earnest diligence in the seuere in- 
quisition and triall of the oflendors heerein, that some of the lords 
began to mislike the matter, and to smell foorth shrewd tokens, that 
he should not be altogither cleare himself e. But for so much as 
they were in that countrie, where hee had the whole rule, what by 
reason of his friends and authoritie togither, they doubted to vtter 
what they thought, till time and place should better serue therevnto, 
and heerevpon got them awaie euerie man to his home. For the 
space of six moneths togither, after this heinous murther thus com- 
_, . mitted, there appeered no sunne by day, nor moone by 

' ' ■ night in anie part of the realme, but still was the skie 
couered with continuall clouds, and sometimes suche outragious 
windes arose, with lightenings and tempests, that the people were in 
great feare of present destruction, (pp. 149-151.) 



* Bustling, commotion. 



18 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

Monstrous sights also that were seene within the Scotish king- 

dome that yeere [that is, of King Duffe's murder, A. D. 

11,1V, 15. Q«,2j were these, horsses in Louthian, being of singular 

beautie and swiftnesse, did eate their own flesh, and would in no 

wise taste anie other meate. In Angus there was a gentle- 

II, IV, 13. wQjjj^Q brought foorth a child without eies, nose, hand or 

foot. There was a sparhawke also strangled by an owle. (p. 152.) 

HOLINSHED's account of the remorse op KENNETH. 

[Quoted by Furness as having probably suggested to Shakespeare 
the " voice " that cried " deep no more^ Kenneth had poisoned Mal- 
colme, son of Duff, and obtained from the Council at Scone the 
ratification of his son as his successor.] 

Thus might he seeme happie to all men; but yet to himselfe he 
seemed most vnhappie as he that could not but still live in con- 
tinuall feare, least his wicked practise concerning the death of Mal- 
come Duffe should come to light and knowledge of the world. For 
so commeth it to passe, that such as are pricked in conscience for aine 
secret offense committed, haue euer an vnquiet mind. And (as the 
fame goeth) it chanced that a voice was heard as he was in bed 
in the night time to take his rest, vttering vnto him these or the like 
woords in effect: ''Thinke not Kenneth that the v/icked slaughter 
of Malcome Duffe by thee contriued, is kept secret from the knowl- 
edge of the eternal God," &c. . . . The king with his voice 
being stricken into great dread and terror, passed that night without 
anie sleepe comming in his eies. 

HOLINSHED's HISTORY OF DUNCAN, MACDONWALD, MACBETH, 
BANQUO, ETC. 

After Malcome .- . . succeeded his nephew Duncane [A. D. 
1034] the Sonne of his daughter Beatrice; for Malcome had two 
daughters, the one, which was this Beatrice, being given in marriage 
unto one Abbanath Crinen, a man of great nobilitie, and thane of the 
Isles and west part of Scotland, bore of that marriage the foresaid 
Duncane; the other, called Doada, was marled vnto Sinell,the thane 
of Glammis, by whom she had issue, one Makbeth, a valiant gentle- 
man, and one that if he had not beene somewhat cruell of nature, 
might haue beene thought most woorthie the gouernement of a 
realme.^,>^n the other part, Duncane was so soft and gentle of 
nature, that the people wished the inclinations and maners of these 
two cousins to haue beene so tempered and enterchangeablie be- 
stowed betwixt them, that where the one had too much clemencie, 
and the other of crueltie, the meane vertue betwixt these two ex- 
tremities might haue reigned by indifferent partition in them both, 
so should Duncane haue proued a worthie king, and Makbeth an ex- 
cellent capteine. The beginning of Duncans reigne was verie quiet 
and peaceable, without anie notable trouble ; but after it was per- 
ceiued how negligent he was in punishing offenders, manie misruled 
persons tooke occasion thereof to trouble the peace and quiet state 
of the commonwealth, by seditious commotions. 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH, 19 

Makdowald, one of great estimation among them, making first a 
confederacie of his neerest friends and kinsman, tooke vpon him to 
be chiefe capteineof all such rebels as would stand against the king, 
in maintenance of their grieuous offenses latelie committed against 
him. Manie slanderous words also, and railing tants this Mak- 
•dowald vttered against his prince, calling him a faint-hearted milke- 
sop. more meet to gouerne a sort of idle moonks in some cloister, than 
to to haue the rule of such valiant and hardie men of warre as the 
Scots were. He vsed also such subtill persuasions and forged allure- 
ments, that in a small time he had gotten togither a mightie power 
J .. ^ . of men: for out of the westerne Isles there came vnto 
-L, 11) J-'i- jjim ^ great multitude of people, offering themselues to 
assist him in that rebellious quarell, and out of Ireland in hope of 
the spoile came no small number of Kernes and Galloglasses. 

Makdowald thus hauing a mightie puissance about him, in- 
countered with such of the kings people as were sent against him 
into Lochquhaber, and discomfiting them, by mere. force tooke their 
capteine Malcome, and after the ^nd of the battell smote off his 
head. At length Makbeth speaking much against the kings soft- 
nes, and ouermuch slacknesse in punishing offendors, whereby they 
had such time to assemble togither, he promised notwithstanding, 
if the charge were committed vnto him and vnto Banquho, so to 
order the matter, that the rebels should be shortly vanquished & 
quite put downe, and that not so much as one of them should be 
found to make resistance within the countrie. 

And euen so it came to passe: for being sent foorth with a new 
power, at his entering into Lochquhaber, the fame of his comming 
put the enimies in such feare, that a great number of them stale 
secretlie awaie from their capteine Makdowald, who neuerthelesse 
inforced thereto, gaue battell vnto Makbeth, with the residue which 
remained with him: but being ouercome, and fleeing for refuge into 
a castell (within the which his wife & children were inclosed) at 
length when he saw how he could neither defend the hold anie 
longer against his enimies, nor yet vpon surrender be suffered to 
depart with life saued, hee first slue his wife and children, and last- 
lie himselfe, least if he had yeelded simplie, he should haue beene 
executed in most cruell wise for an example to other. Makbeth 
entring into the castell by the gates, as then set open, found the car- 
casse of Makdowald lieng dead there amongst the residue of the 
slaine bodies, caused the head to be cut off, and set vpon a poles end. 
The headlesse trunke he commanded to bee hoong vp vpon an high 
paire of gallowes. 

Thus was justice aud law restored againe to the old accustomed 
course, by the diligent means of Makbeth. Immediatlie wherevpon 
woord came that Sueno king of Norway was arriued in Fife with a 
puissant armie, to subdue the whole realme of Scotland, (pp. 168, 
169.) 

Whereof when K. Duncane was certified, he set all slouthfull 
and lingering d'elaies apart, and began to assemble an armie in most 

V vi 4 speedie wise, like a verie valiant capteine. Therefore 
' ' • when his whole power was come togither, he diuided 



20 INTWDUCTION TO 3IACBETH. 

the same into three battels. The first was led by Makbeth, the sec- 
ond by Banquho, & the king himselfe gouerned in the maine bat- 
tell or middle ward. 

The armie of Scotishmen being thus ordered, came vnto Culros, 
where incountering with the enemies, after a sore and criiell f oughten 
battell, Sueno remained victorious, and Malcome with his Scots dis- 
comfited. Howbeit the Danes were so broken by this battell, that 
they were not able to make long chase on their enimies, but kept 
themselues all night in order of battell, for doubt least the Scots as- 
sembling togither againe, might haue set vpon them at some aduant- 
age. 

[Here follows an account of a victory gained by strategy by Dun- 
can over Sueno, who was forced to fly to his ships at the mouth of 
Tay; also an account of the wreck and sinking of all but one of 
the ships by the violence of an east wind.] 

The Scots hauing woone so notable a victorie, after they had gath- 
ered & divided the spoile of the field, caused solemne processions to 
be made in all places of the realme, and thanks to be giuen to 
almightie God, that had sent them so faire a day ouer their enimies. 
But whilest the people were thus at their processions, woord was 
brought that a new fleet of Danes was arriued at Kingcorne, sent 
thither by Canute King of England, in reuenge of his brother 
Suenos ouerthrow. To resist these enimies, which were alreadie 
landed, and busie in spoiling the countrie; Makbeth and Banquho 
were sent with the kings authoritie, who hauing with them a con- 
uenient power, incountered the enemies, slew part of them, and 
I ii 62 c^^s®^ the other to their ships. They that escaped and got 
' ' * once to their ships, obteined of Makbeth for a great summe 
of gold, that such of their friends as were slaine at this last bick- 
ering, might be buried in saint Colmes Inch. In memorie whereof, 
manie old sepultures are yet in the said Inch, there to be scene 
grauen with the armes of the Danes, as the manner of burieng noble- 
men still is, and heretofore hath been used. 

holinshed's narrative of the weird sisters. 

And these were the warres that Duncane had with f orren enimies, in 
the seventh yeere of his reigne. Shortlie after happened a strange and 
vncouth woonder, which afterward was the cause of much trouble 
in the realme of Scotland, as ye shall after heare. It fortuned as Mak- 
I ii 1 ^^^^ ^^^ Banquho iournied towards Fores, where the king 

' ' • then laie, they went sporting by the waie togither without 
other companie, saue onlie themselues, passing thorough the woods 
and fields, when suddenlie in the middest of a laund, there met them 
three women in strange and wild apparell, resembling creatures of 
elder world, whome when they attentiuelie beheld, woondering much 
at the sight, the first of them spake and said; All haile Makbeth, 
thane of Glammis (for he had latelie entered into that dignitie and 
I iii 71 ^^^^ ^y t^^ death of his father Sinell). -The second of 

' ' * them said, Haile Makbeth thane of Cawder. But the third 
said; All haile Makbeth that heereafter shalt be king of Scotland. 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 21 

Then Banquho; What manner of women (saith he) are yon, that 
seeme so little f auourable vnto me, whereas to my fellow heere, be- 
sides high offices, ye assigne also the kingdome, appointing foorth 
nothing for me at all? Yes (saith the first of them) we promise 
greater benefits vnto thee, than vnto him, for he shall reigne in deed, 
but with an vnluckie end: neither shall he leaue anie issue behind 
him to succeede in his place, where contrarilie thou in deed shalt not 
reigne at all, but of thee those shall be borne which shall gouern 
the Scotish kingdome by long order of continuall descent. Here- 
with the foresaid women vanished immediatlie out of their sight. 
This was reputed at the first but some vaine fantasticall illus- 
-r ... p.q ion by Mackbeth and Banquho, insomuch that Banquho 
J-j^ij^^- would call Mackbeth iniest king of Scotland; and Mackbeth 
againe would call him in sport likewise, the father of manie kings. 
But afterwards the common opinion was, that these women were 
either the weird sisters, that is (as ye would say) the goddesses of 
destinie, or else some nymphs or feiries, indued with knowledge of 
prophesie by their necromanticall science, bicause euerie thing came 
to passe as they had spoken. For shortlie after, the thane of Cawder 
being condemned at Fores of treason against the king committed; 
his lands, linings, and offices were giuen of the kings liberalitie to 
Mackbeth. 

The same night after, at supper, Banquho iested with him and 
said; Now Mackbeth thou hast obteined those things which the two 
former sisters prophesied, there remaineth onlie for thee to purchase 
that w^hich the third said should come to passe. Wherevpon Mack- 
beth reuoluing the thing in his mind, began euen then to deuise how 
he might atteine to the kingdome: but yet he thought with himself e 
that he must tarie a time, which should aduance him thereto (by the 
diuine prouidence) as it had come to passe in his former preferment. 
Y •• o I^iit shortlie after it chanced that king Duncane, hauing two 

' ^^' * sonnes by his wife which was the daughter of Siward 
earle of Northumberland, he made the elder of them called Mal- 
colme prince of Cumberland, as it were thereby to appoint him his 
-r . qq successor in the kingdome, immediatlie after his deceasse. 

'^^' Mackbeth sore troubled herewith, for that he saw by this 
means his hope sore hindered (where, by the old lawes of the realme, 
the ordinance was, that if he that should succeed were not of able age 
to take the charge vpon himself e, he that was next of bloud vnto 
him should be admitted) he began to take counsell how he might 
vsurpe the kingdome by force, hauing a iust quarell so to doo (as he 
tooke the matter) for that Duncane did what in him lay to defraud 
him of all maner of title and claime, which he might in time to come, 
pretend vnto the crowne. 

HOLLINSHED'S statement op the murder of DUNCAN, ETC. 

The woords of the three weird sisters also (of whom before ye haue 
heard) greatlie incouraged him herevnto, but speciallie his wife lay 
sore vpon him to attempt the thing, as she that wasverie ambitious, 
burning in vnquenchable desire to beare the name of a queene. At 



22 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

length therefore, communicating his purposed intent with his 
trustie friends, amongst whome Banquho was the chief est, vpon con- 
fidence of their promised aid, he slue the king at Enuerns, or (as 
some say) at Botgosuane, in the sixt yeare of his reigne. Then 
hauing a companie about him of such as he had made priuie to his 
enterprise, he caused himself e to be proclamed king, and foorth- 
yj . o^ with went vnto Scone, where (by common consent) he re- 
11, iv,dl. ceiued the inuesture of the kingdome according to the 
accustomed maner. The bodie of Duncane was first conueied vnto 
Elgine, & there buried in kinglie wise; but afte wards it was remoued 
jy . 04^ and conueied vnto Colmekill, and there laid in a sepulture 
11,1V, (54. amongst his predecessors, in the yeare after the birth of 
our Sauiour, 104t). 

Malcolme Cammore and Donald Bane the sons of king Duncane, 
for feare of their Hues (which they might well know that Mackbeth 
would seeke to bring to end for his more sure confirmation in the 
estate) fled into Cumberland, where Malcolme remained, till time 
that saint Edward the sonne of Etheldred recouered the dominion 
of England from the Danish power, the which Edward receiued Mal- 
colme by way of most friendlie enterteinment; but Donald passed 
ouer into Ireland, where he was tenderlie cherished by the king of 
that land. Mackbeth, after the departure thus of Duncanes sonnes, 
vsed great liberalitie towards the nobles of the realme, thereby to 
win their f auour, and when he saw that no man went about to trouble 
him, he set his whole intention to mainteine iustice, and to punish 
all enormities and abuses, which had chanced through the feeble 
and slouthfull administration of Duncane. (pp. 169-171) 

HOLINSHED'S STATEMENT OP BANQUO's MURDER. 

These and the like commendable lawes Makbeth caused to be put 
as then in vse, gouerning the realme for the space of ten yeeres in 
equall iustice. But this was but a counterf et zeale of equitie shewed 
by him. Shortlie after he began to shew what he was, in stead of 
equitie practising cruelty. For the pricke of conscience (as it 

■r •• ^■^ chanceth euer in tyrants, and such as atteine to anie estate 
' ^ ' 'by vnrighteous means) caused him euer to feare, least he 
should be serued of the same cup as he had ministred to his pre- 
decessor. The woords also of the three weird sisters would not out 
of his mind, which as they promised him the kingdome, so likewise 

TTT 1 48 ^^^^ promise it at the same time vnto the posteritie 

' ' ■ Banquho. He willed therefore the same Banquho with 

his Sonne named Fleance, to come to a supper that he had prepared 

for them, which was in deed, as he had deuised, present death at the 

TTT i 1 S1 liands of certeine murderers, whom he hired to execute 
' ' ■ that deed, appointing them to meete with the same 
Banquho and his sonne without the palace, as they returned to their 
lodgings, and there to slea them, so that he would not haue his 
house slandered, but that in time to come he might cleare himself e, 
if anie thing were laid to his charge, vpon anie suspicion that might 
arise. 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 23 

It chanced yet by the benefit of the darke night, that though 
the father was slaine, the sonne yet by the helpe of almightie 
God reseruing him to better fortune, escaped that danger : and after- 
wards, to avoid further perill he fled into "Wales. 

holtnshed's further account of macbeth's oppressive 
and cruel acts. 

But to returne vnto Makbeth, in continuing the historic, and to 
begin where I left, ye shall vnderstand that after the contriued 
slaughter of Banquho, nothing prospered with the foresaid Makbeth: 
for in maner euery man began to doubt his owne life. 

At length he found such sweetnesse by putting his nobles thus 
to death, that his earnest thirst after bloud in this behalfe might in 
nowise be satisfied: for ye must consider he wan double profite (as hee 
thought) hereby: for first they were rid out of the way whome he 
feared, and then againe his coffers were inriched by their goods 
which were forfeited to his vse. Further, to the end he might the 
more cruellie oppresse his subjects with all tyrantlike wrongs, he 
builded a strong castell on the top of an hie hill called Dunsinane, 
situate in Gowrie, ten miles from Perth, on such a proud height, 
that standing there aloft, a man might behold well neere all the 
countries of Angus, Fife, Stermond, and Ernedale, as it were lieng 
vnderneath him. This castell then being founded on the top of that 
high hill, put the realme to great charges before it was finished, for 
all the stuffe necessarie to the building could not be brought vp 
without much toile and businesse. But Makbeth being once deter- 
mined to haue the worke go forward, caused the thanes of each 
shire within the realme to come and helpe towards that building, 
each man his course about. 

At the last, when the turne fell vnto Makduffe thane of Fife to 
builde his part, he sent workemen with all needfuU prouision, 
and commanded them to shew such diligence in euery behalfe, that 
no occasion might bee giuen for the king to find fault with him, in 
that he came not himself e as other had doone, which he refused to 
doo, for doubt least the king bearing him (as he partlie vnderstood) 
no great good will, would laie violent handes vpon him, as he had 
doone vpon diuerse other. Shortly after, Makbeth comming to be- 
hold how the worke went forward, and bicause he found not Makduffe 
there, he was sore offended, and said; I perceiue this man will 
neuer obeie my commandements, till he be ridden with a snaflle: but 
I shall prouide well enough for him. Neither could he afterwards 
abide to looke vpon the said Makduffe, either for that he thought 
his puissance ouer great, either else for that he had learned of cer- 
teine wizzards, in whose words he put great confidence (for that the 
prophesie had happened so right, which the three faries or weird sis- 
ters had declared vnto him) how that he ought to take heed of Mak- 
duffe, who in time to come should seeke to destroie him. 

And suerlie herevpon had he put Makduffe to death, but that a 
certeine witch, whome hee had in great trust, had told that he should 
neur be slaine with man borne of anie woman, nor vanquished till 
the wood of Bernane came to the castell of Dunsinane. 



24 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 



HOLINSHED TELLS OF THE FLIGHT OF MACDUFF AND THE MURDER 

OF HIS FAMILY. 

At length Makduffe, to auoid perill of life, purposed with himself e 
to passe into England, to procure Malcolme Cammore to claime the 
crowne of Scotland. But this was not so secretlie deuised by Mak- 
duffe, but that Makbeth had knowledge giuen him thereof: for kings 
(as is said) haue sharpe sight like vnto Lynx, and long ears like vnto 
jj-r . ^o-| Midas. For Makbeth had in euery noble mans house one 
'^'^' slie fellow^ or other in fee with him, to reueale all that 
was said or doone within the same. 

Immediatlie then, being aduertised whereabout Makdulle went, 
he came hastily with a great power into Fife, and foorthwith be- 
sieged the castell where Makduffe dwelled, trusting to haue found 
him therein. They that kept the house, without anie resistance 
opened the gates, and suffered him to enter, mistrusting none euil. 
But neuerthelesse, Makbeth most cruellie caused the wife and 
children of MakdufEe, with all other whom he found in that castell, 
to be slaine. Also he confiscated the goods of Makdutfe, proclaimed 
jY ... him traitor, and confined him out of all the parts of his 
' ^^* realme; but Makduffe was alreadie escaped out of danger, 
and gotten into England vnto Malcolme Cammore. 

HOLINSHED RELATES THE INTERVIEW BETWEEN MACDUFF 
AND MALCOLM. 

Malcolme hearing Makduffes woords, which he vttered in verie 
lamentable sort, for meere compassion and verie ruth that pearsed 
his sorrowf ull hart, bewailing the miserable state of his countrie, he 
fetched a deepe sigh; which Macduffe perceiuing began to fall most 
earnestlie in hand with him, to enterprise the deliuering of the 
Scotish people out of the hands of so cruell and bloudie a tyrant, 
as Makbeth by too manie plaine experiments did shew himself to be, 
which was an easie matter for him to bring to passe, considering not 
onelie the good title he had, but also the earnest desire of the people 
to haue some occasion ministred, whereby they might be reuenged 
of those notable iniuries, which they dailie susteined by the out- 
ragious crueltie of Makbeths misgouernance. Though Malcolme 
was verie sorrowfull for the oppression of his countriemen the Scots, 
in maner as MakdufEe had declared, yet doubting whether he were 
come as one that ment vnfeinedlie as he spake, or else as sent from 
Macbeth to betraie him, he thought to haue some further triall, and 
therevpon dissembling his mind at the first, he answered as 
followeth. 

I am trulie verie sorie for the miserie chanced to my countrie 
of Scotland, but though I haue neuer so great affection to relieue the 
same, yet by reason of certeine incurable vices, which reigne in me 
I am nothing meet thereto. First, such immoderate lust and volup- 
tuous sensualitie (the abhominable founteine of all vices) followeth 
me that if I were made king of Scots I should seeke to defloure 
your maids and matrons in such wise that mine intemperance 
should be more importable vnto you than the bloudie tyrannie 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 25 



of Makbeth now is. Heereunto Makdufle answered: this suerly 
is a verie euil fault, for many noble princes and kings haue lost 
-j-^ ... „^ both Hues and kingdomes for the same; neuerthelesse 
IV, 111, a. ^qUq^ jjjy counsell, make thy selfe king, and I shall con- 
j-y. ... „^ ueie the matter so wiselie, that thou shalt be so satisfied 
IV, 111, i/i. ^^ ^j^y pleasure in such wise, such no man shall be aware 
thereof. 

Then said Malcolme, I am also the most auaritious creature on 
the earth, so that if I were king, I should seeke so manie waies to 
get lands and goods, that I would slea the most part of all the nobles 
of Scotland by surmised accusations, to the end I might inioy their 
lands, goods, and possessions. 

Makduffe to this made answer, how it was a far woorse fault 
than the other; for auarice is the root of all mischief e, and for that 
crime the most part of our kings haue beene slaine and brought to 
their finall end. Yet notwithstanding follow my counsell, and take 
vpon thee the crowne. There is gold and riches inough in Scotland 
to satisfle thy greedy desire. Then said Malcolme againe, I am fur- 
thermore inclined to dissimulation, telling of leiisings,* and all 
other kinds of deceit, so that I naturalie reioise in nothing so much, 
as to betraie & deceiue such as put anie trust or confidence in my 
woords. Then sith there is nothing that more becommeth a prince than 
constancie, veritie, truth, and iustice, with the other laudable fellow- 
ship of those f aire and noble vertues which are comprehended onlie 
in soothfastnesse,t and that lieng vtterlie ouerthroweth the same; 
jou see how vnable I am to gouern anie prouince or region. 

Then said Makdufle: This yet is the woorst of all, and there I 
leaue thee, and therefore sale; Oh ye vnhappie and miserable 
Scotishmen, which are thus scourged with so manie and sundrie 
calamities, ech one aboue other! Ye haue one curssed and wicked 
tyrant that now reigneth ouer you, without anie right or title, op- 
pressing you with his most bloudie crueltie. This other that hath 
the right to the crowne, is so replet with the inconstant behauiour 
and manifest vices of Englishmen, that he is nothing w^oorthie to in- 
ioy it: for by his owne confession he is not onlie auaritious, and giuen 
to vnsatiable lust, but so false a traitor withall, that no trust is to be 
had vnto anie woord he speaketh. Adieu Scotland, for now I ac- 
count myself e a banished man for euer, without comfort or consola- 
tion: and with those woords the brackish tears trickled do wne his 
cheekes verie abundantlie. 

At the last, when he was readie to depart, Malcolme tooke him 
by the sleeue, and said: Be of good comfort Makdufle, for I haue 
none of these vices before rememb'red, but haue iested with thee in 
this manner, onlie to prooue thy mind: for diuerse times heeretofore 
hath Makbeth sought by this manner of meanes to bring me into 
his hands, but the more slow I haue shewed my selfe to condescend 
to thy motion and request, the more diligence shall I vse in accom- 
plishing the same. 

* Falsehoods, 
t Truthfulness. 



26 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH, 

HOLINSHED's description of the invasion of ENGLAND BY OLD 
SIWARD, THE BATTLE, THE DEATH OF MACBETH, ETC. 

In the meane time, Malcolme purchased such fauor at king 
Edwards hands, that old Siward earle of Northumberland, was ap- 
pointed with ten thousand men to go with him into Scotland, to sup- 
port him in this enterprise, for recouerie of his right. But after 
that Makbeth perceiued his enimies power to increase, by such aid 
as came to them foorth of England with his aduersarie Maicolme, he 
recoiled backe into Fife, there purposing to abide in campe fortified 
-r^ . i-| at the castell of Dunsinane; but he had such confidence 
' ^^' ' in his prophesies, that he beleeued he should neuer be 
vanquished, till Birnane wood were brought to Dunsinane; nor yet 
to be slaine with anie man, that should be or was .borne of anie 
woman. 

Malcolme following hastilie after Makbeth, came the night be- 
Y : fore the battell vnto Birnane wood, and when his armie 
' ^* had rested a while there to refresh them, he commanded 
euerie man to get a bough of some tree or other of that wood in his 
hand, as big as he might beare, and to march foorth therewith in 
such wise, that on the next morrow they might come closelie and 
without sight in this manner within viewe of his enimies. On the mor- 
row when Makbeth beheld them comming in this sort, he first mar- 
uelled what the matter ment, but in the end remembered himselfe 
that the prophesie which he had heard long before that time, of the 
comming of Birnane wood to Dunsinane castell, waslikelie to be now 
fulfilled. Neuerthelesse, he brought his men in order of battell, and 
exhorted them to doo valiantlie, howbeit his enimies had scarsely 
cast from them their boughs, when Makbeth perceiuing their num- 
bers, betooke him streict to flight, whom Makduffe pursued with 
great hatred euen till he came vnto Lunfannaine, w^here Makbeth 
preceiuing that Makduffe was hard at his backe, leapt beside his 
horsse, saieng; Thou traitor, what meaneth it that thou shouldest 
thus in vaine follow me that am not appointed to be slaine by anie 
creature that is borne of a woman, come on therefore, and receiue 
thy reward which thou hast deserued for thy paines, aud therewithall 
he lifted vp his swoord thinking to haue slaine him. 

But Makduffe quicklie auoiding* from his horsse, yer he came 
at him, answered (with his naked swoord in his hand) saieng: It is 
true Makbeth, and now shall thy insatiable crueltie haue an end, 
for I am euen he that thy wizzards haue told thee of, who was neuer 
borne of my mother, but ripped out of her wombe; therewithall he 
stept vnto him, and slue him in the place. Then cutting his head 
V viii 53 ^■'^"'^ ^^^ shoulders, he set it vpon a pole, and brought it 

' ' ' vnto-Malcolme. This was the end of Makbeth, after he 
had reigned 17 yeeres ouer the Scotishmen. He was slaine in the 
yeere of the incarnation 1057, and in the 16 yeere of king Edwards 
reigne ouer the Englishmen. 

Malcolme Cammore thus recouering the realme (as ye haue 

* Withdrawing, dismounting. 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 35 

to fortify his failing purpose. At all events, in the action of the drama 
it is her intervention, most decidedly, that terminates his irresolution 
and urge him to the final perpetration of the crime which he him- 
self had been the first to meditate. 

[From Ulrici's Shakespeare's Dramatic Art, 1846.] 

Macbeth's is a lofty, glorious and highly gifted nature. He strives 
for what is highest and greatest, from an internal sympathy for all 
that is great. But in endeavoring to acquire it he, at the same time, 
has the wish to satisf}'- his own self, to possess what is highest, 
not only because it is high, but in order thereby to raise himself. 
, . . Up to the commencement of the drama he has kept this desire, 
this ambition, under the discipline of the law; as yet he has nowhere 
gone beyond the lawful limit, that delicate line which preserves 
honor from becoming ambition, and distinguishes it from vice. 
Thus, at least, he is described by his own wife, who must surely be 
the best judge. 

The tyranny of Macbeth plunges a whole people in misery, and 
his crimes have set two great nations in hostility against each other. 
There could not be a more pregnant and impressive illustration of 
the solemn truth that the evil influence of crime, like a poisonous 
serpent coiled within the fairest flowers, spreads over the whole 
circle of human existence, not only working the doom of the crimi- 
nal himself, but scattering far and wide the seed of destruction. 
. . . Macbeth is the tragedy in which, above all others, Shakespeaie 
has distinctly maintained his own Christian sentiments and a truly 
Christian view of the system of things. 

[From Hudson's Lectures on Shakespeare, 1848.] 

The Weird Sisters, indeed, and all that belongs to them, are but poet- 
ical impersonations of evil influences; they are the imaginative, ir- 
responsible agents or instruments of the devil, capable of inspiring 
guilt, but not of incurring it; in and through whom all the powers 
of their chief seem bent up to the accomplishment of a given pur- 
pose. But with all their essential wickedness, there is nothing gross 
or vulgar or sensual about them. They are the very purity of sin 
incarnate; the vestal virgins, so to speak, of hell; radiant with a sort 
of inverted holiness; fearful anomalies in body and soul, in whom 
everything seems reversed; whose elevation is downwards; whose 
duty is sin; whose religion is wickedness; and the law of whose 
being is violation of law! Unlike the Furies of ^schylus, they 
are petrific, not to the senses, but to the thoughts. At first, indeed, 
on merely looking at them we can hardly keep from laug ling, so 
uncouth and grotesque is their appearance. But afterwards, on 
looking into them, we find them terrible beyond description, and the 
more we look into them, the more terrible do they become; t.^e blood 
almost curdling in our veins, as, dancing and singing their 'nfernal 
glees over embryo murders, they unfold to our "thoughts ' ae cold, 
passionless, inexhaustible malignity of their nature. 



I 



36 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

[From Be Quincey's Miscellaneous Essays, 1851.] 

In Macbeth, for the sake of gratifying his own enormous and teem- 
ing faculty of creation, Shakespeare has introduced two murderers, 
and, as usual in his hands, they are remarkably discriminated; but 
though in Macbeth the strife of mind is greater than in his wife, the 
tiger spirit not so awake, and his feelings caught chiefly by conta- 
gion from her — yet, as both were finally involved in the guilt of 
murder, the murderous mind of necessity is finally to be presumed 
in both. This was to be expressed; and on its own account, as well 
as to make it a more proportionable antagonist to the unoffending na- 
ture of their victim, "the gracious Duncan," and adequately to ex- 
pound the "deep damnation of his taking off," this was to be expressed 
with peculiar energy. We were to be made to feel that the human 
nature, i. e., the divine nature of love and mercy, spread through the 
hearts of all creatures, and seldom utterly withdrawn from man, was 
gone, vanished, extinct; and that the fiendish nature had taken its 
place. And, as this effect is marvellously accomplished in the dia- 
logues and soliloquies themselves, so it is finally consummated by the 

expedient under consideration.* In order that a new world 

may step in, this world must for a time disappear. The murderers, 
and the murder, must be insulated — cut off by an immeasurable gulf 
from the ordinary tide and succession of human affairs — locked up 
and sequestered in some deep recess; we must be made sensible 
that the world of ordinary life is suddenly arrested — laid asleep — 
tranced — racked into a dread armistice; time must be annihilated; 
relation to things without abolished; and all must pass self -withdrawn 
into a deep syncope and suspension of earthly passion. Hence it is 
that when the deed is done, when the work of darkness is perfect, 
then the world of darkness passes away like a pageantry in the 
clouds; the knocking at the gate is heard; and it makes known aud- 
ibly that the reaction has commenced; the human has made its re- 
flux upon the fiendish; the pulses of life are beginning to beat again; 
and the re-establishment of the goings-on of the world in which we 
live first makes us profoundly sensible of the awful parenthesis that 
had suspended them. 

[From Mezieres* Shakespeare, his Works and his Critics, I860.] 
All these events, happening within the space of seventeen years, 
are compressed in Shakespeare's play into the narrow limits of the 
drama. He represents to us the successive stages in the life of Mac- 
beth, — his crime, his prosperity, and his punishment. What the 
Greeks yould have developed in a trilogy, as in Orestes, for example, 
to whichi J!/ac6eiA has been more than once compared, is here con- 
fined to k single drama. We need be in nowise surprised at the 
multituv^ of events unfolded in this play, knowing the freedom of 
the Engj ^sh dramatists in this respect. Yet we can find in it no 
element Iforeign to the action. Every circumstance contributes to- 
wards tie denouement; and we cannot fail to admire the powerful art 

—. ^ : ' - ' - ' ■■ 

\ 

*The k locking at the gate, Act II. so. iii. 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 37 

with which Shakespeare has maintained the unity amid the nuin- 
berless catastrophes of the piece. . . . This un^ity results from the 
development of a single character. Macbeth fills the play. Every- 
thing refers to him. . . . This character binds in one all portions of 
the drama. 

[From Oervinus's Shakespeare^ 1862.'] 

As far as regards poetic justice in the fates of Duncan, Banquo, 
and Macdufi, there lies in their several natures a contrast to Mac- 

beth's King Duncan is characterized in history 

as a man of greater weakness than became a king; rebellions were 
frequent in his reign; he was no warrior to suppress them, no physi- 
ognomist to read treason in the face; after he had just passed through 
a painful experience through the treachery of the friendly thane of 
Cawdor, he at once, overlooking the modest Banquo, elevates Mac- 
beth to this very thaneship, thereby pampering Macbeth's ambition, 
and suffers a cruel penalty for this blunder at the hands of the new 
thane, his own kinsman. The same lack of foresight ruins Banquo. 
He had been admitted to the secret of the weird sisters; pledged to 
openness towards Macbeth, he had an opportunity of convincing 
himself of his obduracy and secrecy; he surmises and suspects Mac- 
beth's deed, yet he does nothing against him and nothing for him- 
self; like, but with a difference, those cowardly impersonations of 
fear, the Doctor, Seyton, Ross, and the spying ironical Lennox, he 
suppresses his thoughts and wilfully shuts his eyes; he falls, having 
done nothing in a field full of dangers. Macduff is not quite so 
culpable in this respect; he is, therefore, punished, not in his own 
person, but in the fate of his family, which makes him the martyr- 
hero by whose hand Macbeth falls. Macduff is, by nature, what 
Macbeth once was, a mixture of mildness and force; he is more than 
Macbeth, because he is without any admixture of ambition. When 
Malcolm accuses himself to Macduff of every imaginable vice, not 
a shadow of ambition to force himself into the usurper's place 
comes over Macduff. So noble, so blameless, so mild, Macduff lacks 
the goad of sharp ambition necessary to make him a victorious op- 
ponent of Macbeth. The poet, therefore, by the horrible extermin- 
ation of his family, drains him of the milk of human kindness, and 
so fits him to be the conqueror of Macbeth. 

[From Flathe^s Shakespeare in Seiner Wirklichkeit, 1863.] 

Banquo enters with his son Fleance, who holds a torch. Will not 
the man do something at last for his king, take some measures to 
prevent a cruel crime? Everything combines to enjoin the most 
careful watchfulness upon him, if duty and honor are yet quick 
within his breast; and here we come to a speech of Banquo's to 
his son to which we must pay special heed, since upon it the earlier 
English commentators, Steevens among them, have based their 
ridiculous theory that in this tragedy Banquo, in contrast to Mac- 
beth, who is led astray, represents the man unseduced by evil. 
Steevens says that this passage shows that Banquo too is tempted by 
the witches in his dreams to do something in aid of the fulfillment 



38 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

of his hopes, and that in his waking hours he holds himself aloof 
from all such suggestions, and hence his prayer to be spared the 
"cursed thoughts that nature gives way to in repose." 

A stranger or more forced explanation of this passage can hardly 
be imagined. . . . As he has already done, Banquo here en- 
deavors as far as possible to assert his own innocence to himself, 
while, for the sake of his future advantage, he intends to oppose no 
obstacle to the sweep of Macbeth's sword. It is, therefore, nec- 
essary that he should pretend to himself that here in Macbeth's 
castle no danger can threaten Duncan nor any one else. There- 
fore his sword need not rest by his side this night, and he gives 
it to his son. He must be able to say to himself, in the event of any 
fearful catastrophe, "1 never thought of or imagined any danger, and 
so I laid aside my arms." 

And yet, try as he may, he cannot away with the stifling sensation 
of a tempest in the air, a storm-cloud destined to burst over Dun- 
can's head this very night. He cannot but acknowledge to himself 
that a certain restless anxiety in his brain is urging him, in spite of 
his weariness, to remain awake during the remaining hours of the 
night. But this mood, these sensations, must not last, or it might 
seem a sacred duty either to hasten to the chamber of King Duncan 
or to watch it closely, that its occupant may be shielded from mur- 
derous wiles. To avoid this, Banquo denounces the thoughts of 
Macbeth that arise in his mind as "cursed thoughts." So detestably 
false are they that a merciful Power must be entreated to restrain 
them during sleep, when the mind is not to be completely controlled. 

\_From HeraucCs Inner Life of Shakespeare, 1865.'] 
All this tragedy is symbolic, — the diction, the action, the dia- 
logue. That is, each is but a representative portion of a larger 
whole. Lady Macbeth's letter is only suggestive, not the entire 
document; and the conversation in the geventh scene of the first 
Act refers, as alreaiy intimated, to a long previous one. Of Sinel 
and Cawdor, to whose titles Macbeth succeeds, and of the "mer- 
ciless MacDonald," whom he subdues, nothing is told but the names; 
the Witches themselves are introduced without any explanation, and 
we have to refer them to a system of mythology which we can only 
guess at. Lady Macbeth in the last Act comes suddenly before us 
as a somnambulist, without any preparation in the previous scenes; 
and what she says then in her soliloquy — and she says it in the brief- 
est way — is to indicate to us a psychological process very obscurely 
foreshadowed in the third Act, scene second, and which, on account 
of that obscurity, has been misunderstood. By this method of 
composition Shakespeare has gained a rapidity in the conduct of 
this drama which brings it into contrast with almost all the others. 
Thus, in illustrating a subject which reveals itself in types and sym- 
bols only on the stage of history and real life, Shakespeare, with a 
fine inner instinct, gives the same form to his religious tragedy. The 
symbolical style of this drama almost imparts to it a Biblical char- 
acter. Victor Hugo, indeed, considers that this typical character be- 
longs to many of Shakespeare's productions. The type condenses a 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 39 



world of examples in a single one. A lesson which is a man, a 
myth with a human face so plastic that it looks at you, and that 
its look is a mirror, a parable which warns you, a symbol which 
cries out "Beware!" an idea which is nerve, muscle, and flesh, and 
which has a heart to love, eyes to weep, and teeth to devour or 
laugh, a psychical conception with the relief of actual fact, — that is 
the type. 

[From Lamartineh Shakespeare and his Work, ISGo.] 

It is as a moralist that Shakespeare excels; no one can doubt this 
after a careful study of his works which, though containing some 
passages of questionable taste, cannot fail to elevate the mind by the 
purity of the morals they inculcate. There breathes through them 
so strong a belief in virtue, so steady an adherence to good princi- 
ples, united to such a vigorous tone of honor, as testifies to the au- 
thor's excellence as a moralist, nay, as a Christian. It is most 
noteworthy that the tragic paganism of the modern drama disap- 
peared with Shakespeare, and that if his plays are criminal in their 
issues, their logic is invariably and inflexibly orthodox 

Such is Macbeth It is crime! It is remorse! It is the weakness 
of a strong man opposed to the seductions of a perverted and pas- 
sionate woman! Above all, it the immediate expiation of crime by 
the secret vengeance of God! Herein lies the invincible morality of 
Shakespeare. The poet is in harmony with God. 

[From Bodenstedfs edition of Macbeth, 1867.] 

We must presume that the lady has too high an opinion of her 
husband. . . . We already know him as a .quickly determined mur- 
derer in thought, and as an accomplished hypocrite; and this nature 
of his is not belied by the present letter;* it appears only thinly 
disguised. The lady knows at once what he is after; she knows and 
openly acknowledges that his " milk of human kindness" will not 
deter him from attempting the life of old King Duncan, but only 
from " catching the nearest way;" that is, from laying his own hand 
to it. 

[From Petri^s Introduction of Shakespeare into Christian Families, 

1868.] 

The definite conception and recognition of a spiritual realm, whose 
influence over human souls is full of malignity, woe and terror, is to 
be found in all periods of human history, and in all stages of civil- 
ization. ... In a word, Shakespeare is penetrated with the truth, of 
which we have proofs over and over again in the Bible, that there is 
a secret world of evil spirits that with Satanic cunning lie in wait 
for human souls. . . . Under this weight of demoniac influences lies 
Macbeth when the drama opens. 

* The letter in Act I., ec. v. 



40 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

[From LoweWs Shakespeare Once More, 1870.] 

In the modern tragedy, certainly in the four greatest of Shake- 
speare's tragedies, there is something very like Destiny, only the 
place of it is changed. It is no longer above man, but in him; yet 
the catastrophe is as sternly foredoomed in the characters of Lear, 
Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet as it could be by an infallible oracle. 
In Macbeth, indeed, the Weird Sisters introduce an element very 
like Fate; but generally it may be said that with the Greeks the 
character is involved in the action, while with Shakespeare the action 
is evolved from the character. In the one case, the motive of the 
play controls the personages; in the other, the chief personages are 
in themselves the motive to which all else is subsidiary. 

[From Leo^s Macbeth, Translated, Introduced, and Explained, 1811.1 

We exhaust all the sensational epithets at our command in paint- 
ing in bright colors the terrible, tigerish nature of Lady Macbeth. 
She has been styled the intellectual originator of the murder; the 
evil spirit goading her husband to crime — and, after all, she is noth- 
ing of the kind; she is of a proud, ardent nature, a brave, consistent, 
loving woman, that derives her courageous consistency from the 
depths of her affection, and, after the first step in crime, sinks under 
the burden of guilt heaped upon her soul. . . . But he lives and 
rages on, like a Berserker of old, destroying in his tyrannous hate 
whatsoever stands in his path. . . Macbeth's is a nature predestined 
to murder, not needing the influence of his wife to direct him to tlie 
path of crime, along which at first she leads him. The wife, on the 
other hand, at the side of a noble, honorable husband, always faith- 
ful to the right, would have been a pure and innocent woman, dif- 
fusing happiness around her domestic circle, in spite of some 
asperities in her temper. 

[From BucknilVs The Mad Folk of Shakespeare, 1861.'] 

What was Lady Macbeth's form and temperament? In Maclise's 
great painting of the banquet scene she is represented as a woman 
of large and coarse development: a Scandinavian Amazon, the mus- 
cles of whose brawny arms could only have been developed to their 
great size by hard and frequent use; a woman of whose fists her 
husband might well be afraid. . . . Was Lady Macbeth such a be- 
ing? Did the fierce fire of her soul animate the epicene bulk of a 
virago? Never! Lady Macbeth was a lady, beautiful and delicate, 
whose one vivid passion proves that her organization was instinct 
with nerve-force, unoppressed by weight of flesh. Probably she 
was small; for it is the smaller sort of women whose emotional fire 
is the most fierce, and she herself bears unconscious testimony to the 
fact that her hand was little. . . . Although she manifests no feeling 
towards Macbeth beyond the regard which ambition makes her 
yield, it is clear that he entertains for her the personal love which 
a beautiful woman would excite. . . . Moreover, the effect of re- 
morse upon her own health proves the preponderance of nerve in 
her organization. Could the Lady Macbeth of Maclise, and of 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 41 

others who have painted this lady, have been capable of the fire and 
force of her character in the commission of her crimes, the re- 
membrance of them would scarcely have disturbed the quiet of her 
after years. We figure Lady Macbeth to have been a tawny or 
brown blonde Rachel, with more beauty, with gray and cruel eyes, 
hut with the same slight, dry configuration and constitution, instinct 
with determined nerve-power. 

[From Weiss' s Wit, Humor, and Shakespeare, 18'76.'] 
I conceive that when Macbeth's crime had fully infected Shake- 
speare's imagination and was urging it into the appalling swiftness of 
the first scenes of this tragedy, he endowed Macbeth with its own 
shaping quality. The witches were not decoys of another world to 
lure him into acquaintanceship with crime. They were his own 
intention grown to be so ravenous that it framed a prelude to his 
deed, as the condition of starving sets a phantom banquet before a 
person's eyes. Shakespeare had no need of them to start the busi- 
ness of his play or to keep alive his plot. Macbeth and his wife did 
their own tempting so thoroughly that spirits might applaud and 
refrain from interfering. But these witches were characters of the 
second-sight which Shakespeare imputed to Macbeth, a distinguish- 
ing trait born into Macbeth's mind from the conception of this trag- 
edy. The prosaic superstructure of the old chronicle, on which the 
play is based, is transformed into a psychological peculiarity. 

So we observe that these weird sisters were no posters of vulgar ill, 
horsed on nursery broomsticks, to deliver murrain in the fold and 
rheumatism at the hearth, in gratification of a vicious whim. But 
they became vulgarized into this whenever Macbeth was absent from 
the scene. Then they shrank from Fates to hags such as Banquo's 
undistempered eyes saw them, withered, hairy-faced, laying chappy 
fingers upon skinny lips, — old women dreaded by the common people 
for reputed powers of bewitching. All such Celtic superstitions 
breed nobly in Macbeth's fancy; he knows all about the village gos- 
sip. The eldritch women are the nearest hint of supernature which 
he had; but his kingly anticipations tolerate no common pranks from 
them. When Macbeth is absent, Shakespeare shows what stale 
witcheries they traffic in. The critics blame the incongruity, or at- 
tribute it to some interpolating pen. But Shakespeare rightly in- 
tended to place in contrast with Macbeth's fantasy the popular 
material of his age in which it worked. So w^e hear the witches 
relating their trumpery exploits. This one has been killing poor 
people's swine. Another threatens to water-log a shipmaster because 
his wife refused to give her chestnuts. They put their spiteful heads 
together, and gloat over a drowned pilot's thumb. When Macbeth 
enters, this ghastly twaddle is hushed by a domineering thought w^hich 
meets in these crones his " all hail hereafter." 

in the scene which follows the banquet, Shakespeare brings the 
witches and their mistress Hecate together. The stage direction, 
*' Enter Hecate to the other three witches," simply includes her as 
one witch more. She has a Greek name that was representative of the 



42 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

Moon in her baleful and haunting phase. But on this northern heath 
she displays a genuine Celtic temper, and scolds the witches for hav- 
ing unbidden dealings with Macbeth; while she, "the close contriver 
of all harms," was never called to bear her part. Of course not, as 
Macbeth's imagination had no personal rapport with her, and all 
that Shakespeare wants of her is to keep the popular witch element 
upon the stage and set it to creating " artificial sprites " in collusion 
with the greater incantation in Macbeth's heart. The witches pro- 
vide him nothing but the cave and the cauldron. The scene never 
rises into dignity until he arrives. Three old women hovering around 
a kettle, throw in a number of nauseous curiosities which they have 
got by foraging in disreputable quarters. They stir the slab gruel to 
verses which are as realistic as a wooden spoon; yet neither Middle- 
ton nor any other of Shakespeare's contemporaries, save Marlowe 
perhaps, could have written them. But mark how the tone alters when 
Macbeth comes to conjure with them. "What is it they do? " A deed 
without a name." Then there is only one more culinary interrup- 
tion; but we shudder and cannot sneer, for it uses an ingredient 
furnished by a man who has committed crimes against nature; the 
spell catches the drippings of a murderer's gibbet. Macbeth's 
secret divinings of the future fill the scene; the visions incorporate 
his own anxiety. Out of his perturbed soul rise the armed head, the 
bloody child. He reassures himself with the phantom of a child 
crowned, with a tree in his hand, and misinterprets it into a " sweet 
bodement " of safety, so long as trees do not take to travelling. But 
the recollection of Banquo is the great disturber, that spirit sits at 
every feast of solace which the King partakes. His "heart throbs 
to know one thing." Will Banquo's issue ever reign? The King's 
flaming soul throws shadows on the screen of his dread, — a show of 
kings, Banquo first and last, eight of them between Banquo blood- 
boltered and Banquo crowned. But the Banquo that smiles is bathed 
in blood. Blood let it be then. 

"From this moment, 
The verj^ firstlings of my heart shall be 
The firstlings of my hand." 

But no critical theory can hold a work of imagination to a strict 
account. You may slap John Locke into a witness-box and riddle 
him with cross-questions: the same court has no authority to put a 
poet upon oath to justify himself in every line. 

[From Bowden's Shakespeare, 1876.] 

It need hardly be once more repeated that the Witches of Mac- 
beth are not the broom-stick witches of vulgar popular tradition. 
If they are grotesque, they are also sublime. The weird sisters of 
our dramatist may take their place beside the terrible old women 
of Michael Angelo, who spin the destinies of man. Shakespeare 
is no more afraid than Michael Angelo of being vulgar. It is the 
feeble, sentimental ideal artist who is nervous about the dignity 
of his conceptions, and who, in aiming at the great, attains only 



INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 43 

the grandiose, he thins away all that is positive and material, in 
the hope of discovering some novelty of shadowy horror. But 
the great ideal artists — Michael Angelo, Dante, Blake, Beethoven 
— see things far more dreadful than the vague horrors of the ro- 
manticist; they are perfectly fearless in their use of the material, 
the definite, the gross, the so-called vulgar. And thus Shakespeare 
fearlessly showed us his weird sisters, "the goddesses of destiny," 
brewing infernal charms in their wicked caldron. We cannot quite 
dispense in this life with ritualism, and the ritualism of evil is foul 
and ugly; the bell-broth which the witches are cooking bubbles up 
with no refined, spiritual poison; the quintessence of mischief is be- 
ing brewed out of foul things which can be enumerated; thick and 
slab the gruel must be made. Yet these weird sisters remain terri- 
ble and sublime. They tingle in every fibre with evil energy, as the 
tempest does with the electric current; their malignity is inexhaust- 
ible; they are wells of sin springing up into everlasting death; they 
have their raptures and ecstasies in crime; they snatch with delight 
at the relics of impiety and foul disease; they are the awful inspir- 
ers of murder, insanity, suicide. 

The weird sisters, says Gervinus, " are simply the embodiment of 
inward temptation." They are surely much more than this. If we 
must regard the entire universe as a manifestation of an unknown 
somewhat which lies behind it, we are compelled to admit that there 
is an apocalypse of power auxiliary to vice, as really as there is a 
manifestation of virtuous energy. All venerable mythologies ad- 
mit this fact. The Mephistopheles of Goethe remains as the testi- 
mony of our scientific nineteenth century upon the matter. The 
history of the race and the social medium in which we live and 
breathe, have created forces of good and evil which are independ- 
ent of the will of each individual man and woman. The sins of 
past centuries taint the atmosphere of to-day. We move through the 
world subject to accumulated forces of evil and of good outside our- 
selves. We are caught up at times upon a stream of virtuous force, 
a beneficent current which bears us onward towards an abiding place 
of joy, of purity, and of sacrifice; or a counter current drifts us towards 
darkness and cold and death. And therefore no great realist in art 
has hesitated to admit the existence of what theologians name Sa- 
tanic temptation. There is in truth no such thing as "naked man- 
hood." The attempt to divorce ourselves from the large impersonal 
life of the world, and to erect ourselves into independent wills, is 
the dream of the idealist. And between the evil within and the evil 
without subsists a terrible sympathy and reciprocity: There is in 
the atmosphere a zymotic poison of sin; and the constitution which 
is morally enfeebled supplies appropriate nutriment for the germs 
of disease, while the hardy moral nature repels the same germs. 
Macbeth is infected; Banquo passes free. Let us, then, not inquire 
after the names of these fatal sisters. Nameless they are, and sex- 
less. It is enough to know that such powers auxiliary to vice do ex- 
ist outside ourselves, and that Shakespeare was scientifically accur- 
ate in his statement of the fact. 



44 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH., 

[From Hudson's Macbeth, 1879.1 

The style of this mighty drama is pitched in the same high tragic 
l?;ey as the action. Throughout, we have an explosion, as of pur- 
pose into act, so also of thought into speech, both literally kindling 
with their own swiftness. No sooner thought than said, no sooner 
said than done, is the law of the piece. Therewithal thoughts 
and images come crowding and jostling each other in such quick 
succession as to prevent a full utterance; a second leaping upon the 
tongue before the first is fairly off. I should say the poet here 
specially endeavored how much of meaning could be conveyed in 
how little of expression; with the least touching of the ear to send 
vibrations through all the chambers of the mind. Hence the large, 
manifold suggestiveness which lurks in the words: they seem in- 
stinct with something which the speakers cannot stay to unfold. 
And between these invitations to linger and the continual drawings 
onward the reader's mind is kindled to an almost preternatural ac- 
tivity. All which might at length grow wearisome, but that the play 
is, moreover, throughout, a conflict of antagonist elements and op- 
posite extremes, which are so managed as to brace up the interest 
on every side : so that the effect of the whole is to refresh, not ex- 
haust the powers; the mind being sustained in its long and lofty 
flight by the wings that grow forth as of their own accord from its 
superadded life. The lyrical element, instead of being interspersed 
here and there in the form of musical lulls and pauses, is thor- 
oughly interfused with the dramatic; while the ethical sense un- 
derlies them both, and is forced up through them by their own 
pressure. The whole drama indeed may be described as a tempest 
set to music. 

[From Richard Grant White's The Lady GruacVs Husband, ISSd."] 

Her name was Gruach, and she came of a family whose strong 
and grasping hands had made them what was then called noble. 
There is reason for believing that she was very beautiful, and yet 
more for the assurance that she had in a rare degree those winning 
ways and womanly wills that give the weaker half of mankind so 
much influence for good and evil over the stronger. Unimaginative, 
without tenderness, with a cruel, remorseless nature, and a bright, 
clear intellect that saw at once the end that she desired and the means 
of its attainment, she was a type of those female politicians who, in 
the past ages of the world's moral rudeness, have sought, and, by in- 
trigue, by suggestion, and by the stimulus of sexual temptation 
and feminine craft which made the strength of man their instru- 
ment, have attained that great end of woman's ambition, social pre- 
eminence. . . . Women who have the womanly nature in its 
best form, are more ambitious for those they h.ve than for them- 
selves. . . . But where a woman is without tenderness and 
without the capacity of devotion, she is the most unscrupulous and 
remorseless creature under the canopy of heaven. A tigress has 
not less compunction when she bears a white gasping infant off into 
the jungle. Of such ambitious sort was Gruach. 



INTBODUCTION TO MACBETH. 45 

{From Morley's Edition, 1886.] 

The main feature in the original story is the perdition of a souL 
through the working of the powers of evil; and the play is so shaped 
that it may be said even to embody a text from St. Paul. It is of 
"the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
and all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." (2. 
Thessalonians ii, 9, 10). 

The keynote is struck at the opening of the play with the appear- 
ance of the witches, who poetically represent the spirit of evil. 
Shakespeare, while using conceptions of witchcraft that were com- 
monly accepted in his time, so little relied upon them that, to us 
who associate with them chiefly low ideas of an ignorant credulity, 
the touches of witch-talk taken from the popular belief never abate 
the grandeur of his poetical suggestion. His witches blend all the 
local color of our home-bred superstition with imagery from the 
classical conception of the Fates as three weird sisters, and with the 
religious suggestion of a spiritual power seeking to betray the souls 
of rnen. They are sexless beings that hover in the cloud and in the 
.ness, and, when seen, vanish again by making themselves air. 
/hen the play opens, Macbeth and Banquo are winning the 

jwning victory that saves King Duncan's throne, imperilled by the 

rong assaults of foreign invasion and domestic treason. Fore- 
aost in bodily valour, Macbeth especially is winning to himself the 
nonors of the day. After the king's sons, hitherto not of age to be 
declared successors, he is Duncan's nearest kinsman. In the ela- 
tion of his victory he may, if his regard to the right for its own sake 
be weak, lie open to one temptation. These were days of a rude 
civilization, when a king's son did not succeed if not of age to rule, 
but the successor was a brother or next kinsman able to direct in 
council or command in war. The same usage has been referred to 
in considering the plot of Hamlet. The eldest son of Duncan was 
not yet declared heir to the throne. Duncan away, Macbeth, fresh 
from a crowning victory, would wear the crown by right of usage 
and by force of the triumphant army at his back. Opportunity les.s 
tempting has in old time led generals to seek a crown by murder of 
a king. The hour of Macbeth's temptation was born of his victory. 
The whole first act of Macbeth is planned to develop the temptation^ 
and the powers of evil are first shown waiting to strike 

" When the hurly-burly 's done, 
When the battle 's lost and won." 

They prepare to meet Macbeth upon the heath, and vanish into the 
thunder-cloud from which they came. 

" Fair is foul, and foul is fair, 

Hover through the fog and filthy air." 

Not only more ancient beliefs, but our old church traditions have 

associated darkness with the spirits of evil. Milton, who made 

grand use of the church traditions of the Fall of Lucifer, embodied 

that other tradition in his image of the bridge that brought the fiends 

fter the Fall to dwell in clouds and darkness round about us, ever at 



46 INTRODUCTION TO MACBETH. 

hand to tempt us to our ruin. In " Paradise Lost" the Council of 
Fallen Spirits was in Hell. In " Paradise Regained '■ Satan sum- 
mons his Council in the clouds. The old nursery fears of darkness, 
even now instilled into some children, have their origin in old be- 
liefs that peopled darkness with unhappy ghosts and spirits of evil. 
Not only in the thunder and lightning that are about the witches at 
the opening of the play, but in later scenes, in other ways, Shake- 
speare has made his spirits of evil spirits of darkness. 

Having opened the play thus with suggestions of its theme, in the 
working of Satan for temptation and destruction of a soul, Shakes- 
peare tells the story of the battle in words of a bleeding captain 
who has hurried to King Duncan. His panting breath and ebbing 
strength are marked by the form of his sentences and changing 
structure of the verse. In the account given by the bleeding cap- 
tain, and by Rosse and Angus, who close it wuth tidings of victory, 
Macbeth shines out as "brave Macbeth," as "valour's minion," "Bel- 
lona's bridegroom, lapped in proof." At the end of the play Shake- 
speare marks, as clearly as at the beginning, that Macbeth was physi- 
cally brave. But he marks throughout as distinctly that Macbeth 
w^as morally weak. His chief desire was to stand well with the 
world; and to the day of this temptation all had been well with him. 
He had lived an honorable life in the world's eyes, because favor in 
the world's eyes is on the whole to be secured by living honorably, 
and dishonorable deeds bring worldly discredit with them. Mac- 
beth is, in fact, a grand poetic type of a very common form of moral 
weakness. He does not strongly seek to do right for the love of 
right: but he seeks weakly to do right for love of the worldly con- 
veniences that right-doing brings. The trader, smiling at a tattered 
cloak; who goes to church regularly in his Sunday best, and thinks 
out, perhaps, in the quiet of his pew, a new way of outwitting his 
rivals; who is careful to subscribe to public charities; is prompt also 
in private charities that cannot fail to come to light, and as prompt 
in any private knavery for gain of wealth, if he can only feel sure 
that it will never be discovered, or that it is a form of dishonesty 
which the conventions of the world accept and which will bring re- 
spect for shrewdness as a man of business — to him Macbeth ought 
to speak in parable. In his own miserable way, he is the man. It 
is to such as he that the temptation may come, with false assurance 
of security, that shall drag him down, as it dragged Macbeth, 
to utter ruia. None but the morally weak can be so caught. He 
who holds by the right for its own sake is morally strong, and lapped 
in proof against the tempter. 

The witches' scene with Hecate, and the witches' scene at the 
opening of the fourth act, recall firmly the motive of the poem in 
" the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." 
They do more. They prepare for the fourth act by distinct fore- 
showing of the poet's purpose in it. The tale is of the ruin of a 
tempted soul. Shakespeare has shown clearly what kind of soul it 
is that lies most open to the tempter; he has represented the swift 
passage from crime to crime; and now Hecate, the mistress of their 



INTnOBUCTION TO MACBETH. 47 

charms, the close contriver of all harms, looks angrily on the weird 
sisters, whose temptation has not yet dragged down Macbeth to be 
companion of fiends. Thus far, all they have done 

" Hath been but for a wayward son, 
Spiteful and wrathful ; who, as others do, 
Loves for his own- ends, not for you." 

Thus far, all crime has been to win and to secure some earthly gain; 
has had a motive with a touch in it of human reason. Macbeth has 
been made but a wayward son of the powers of darkness, loving 
evil for his own ends, not for itself; not for you, who are evil itself — 

"You murdering ministers, 
Wherever in your sightless substances 
You wait on nature's mischief." 

For the complete perdition of the tempted soul, it must be dragged 
down to the lowest deep, till it do evil without hope of other gain 
than satisfaction of a fiendish malice. This, yet to be attained, is 
the triumphant close of the working of Satan. Its attainment, 
" with all power and signs and lying wonders," the fourth act is to 
show, where Macbeth gains no end but the satisfaction of a fiendish 
malice and cruelty by the murder of Lady Macduff and her chil- 
dren. This foreshadowing of the motive of the fourth act includes 
also preparations for the fifth act, which has for its theme the Ret- 
ribution. Thus the five acts are arranged with a clear poetical de- 
sign in their succession :---(l) the Temptation; (2) the Murder of Dun- 
can; (3) downward, as consequence of that, to the Murder of Banquo; 
(4) complete ruin, in passage to the Murder of Lady Macduff and 
her children; and then (5) in the last act, the reaping of the whirl- 
wind. 



EXPLANATIONS. 

Abbott '^ the Shakespearian Grammar of Dr. E. A. Abbott, third 
edition, 1873. 

A. S.=Anglo-Saxoii; Dan.= Danish; Fr.= Frenc]i;Gael.= Gaelic; 
Ger.= German; Gr.= Greek; O. E.^= Old English, etc. 

Bracket = Etymological French Dictionary, by A. Brachet, transla- 
tion 1873. 

Furness =^ the Variorum Shakespeare, Macbeth, by Dr. Horace 
Howard Furness, 1873. 

Maetzner =^ Fnglische Grammatik, von E. Maetzner, 1860-65. 

Masterpieces = Masterpieces in English Literature, by the present 
Editor. 

Molfe = Bolfe^s School Edition of Shakespeare's Plays. 

Schmidt = Shakespeare Lexicon, by Dr. Alexander Schmidt, 1886. 

Skeat = Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, by 
Walter W. Skeat, 1882. 

Stormonth = Dictionary of the English Language, by Rev. James 
Stormonth, 1885. 

Webster = Noah Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. 

Wedgwood = Dictionary of English Etymology, by H. A. Wedg- 
wood, second edition, 1878. . 

l!!^"As to the numbers of the lines, Rolfe's admirable school 
edition has been followed. 



MACBETH. 



noblemen of Scotland. 



DRAMATIS PERSONiE. 



Duncan, king- of Scotland.. 
Malcolm, Uis sons. 

DONALBAIN, ' 

Macbeth, | generals of the king's army. 

Banquo, ' 

Macduff, 

Lennox, 

Ross, 

Menteith, 

Angus, 

Caithness, 

Fleance, son to Banquo. 

SiwARD, Earl of Northumberland, general of the English forces. 

Young SiwARD, his son. 

Seytox, an offlcer attending on Macbeth. 

Boy, son to Macduff. 

An English Doctor. 

A Scotch Doctor. 

A Sergeant. 

A Porter. 

An Old Man. 

Lady Macbeth. 

Lady Macduff. 

Gentlewomen attending on Lady Macbeth. 

Hecate. 

Three Witches. 

Apparitions. 

Lords, Gentlemen, Officers, Soldiers, Murderers, Attendants and Mes- 
sengers. 

Scene: Scotland; England. 



50 



MACBETH. 



ACT I. 

ScEXE I. A Desert Place. 
Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches. 

First Witch. When shall we three meet a^ain 
In thunder, lightning, or in rain? 

Second Witch. When the hurly-burly 's done. 
When the battle 's lost and won. 

Third Witch. That will be ere the set of sun. 

First Witch. Where the place? 

Second Witch. Upon the heath. 

Third Witch. There to meet with — Macbeth. 



ACT I. ScEXE I. Enter Three Witches. — What dramatic pur- 
pose is subserved by this scene? Are the witches introduced, as Cole- 
ridge says, " to strike the keynote of the character of the wliole drama?" 
What may we gather from the scene as to proper witch-weather? 
proximity to battle? time of day? place? "familiar spirits''? moral 
character of the witches? — Line 1. The folios end this and the next 
line with interrogation mark. Rightly? — Line 2. Does she ask, '"In 
which of the three, thunder, lightning, or rain? " or, "When shall we 
three meet in foul weather again? " Read with pauses and inflections 
to correspond with your interpretation. —3. Hurly-burly = uproar? 
tumult? An imitative word, reduplicated, the second half echoing the 
first. Our ancestors were fond of such rhyming repetitions, as Jtamm- 
scanim, higgledij-piggledij, hm-dy-gui-dy, nambif-pamhy, helter-skelter (i. e., 
Mlariter et celeriter, merrily and swiftly!) etc. See our ed. of Hamlet, 
note on IV, v, 67. French, hiirlcr: Lat., xilulare; Gr. oXoXv^eLv, ololu- 
zein, to howl; Lat., ulula^ and Eng., owl; fr. i/ul, to hoot. Our 
"hullabaloo" seems a coi-rupt form of hurly-hurly. —6. heath = 
Tract of uncultivated land [Schmidt] ? wild, open country [Skeat] ? A. 
S., haeth, akin to Ger. heide; fr. Aryan base kaita, pasture, heath, 
perhaps "a clear space." Skent. The evergreen shrub, called in Scot- 
land heather (liether), is so named from growing on heaths. Hence. 
heathen, one who dwells there ! — 3Iacbeth. Of the strip of Beeth, who 
called themselves MacBeeth, \Miite. Mac is son in Scotch? Dr. Brinsley 
Nicholson would supply " thee " before " Macbeth." Capell suggested 
the insertion of "great." — S. graynialkin (or grimalkin) = gray cat? 
a •■ familiar spirit " (see / Sam., xxviii, T) who has a cat's voice? Mal- 

51 



52 MACBETH. [act i. 

First Witch. I come, Graymalkin! 
Second Witch, Paddock calls. 

Third Witch. Anon. • 10 

All. Fair is foul, and foul is fair: 
Hover through the fog and filthy air. [Exeunt, 

ScEXE II. A Camp near Forres. 

Alarum vnthin. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, 
' Lennox, vnth Attendants, meeting a bleeding Sergeant. 

Duncan. What bloody man is that? He can report, 
As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt 
The newest state. 

Malcolm. This is the sergeant 

Who like a good and hardy soldier fought 

feiw, diminutive of Maud {%. e., Matilda, lieroine), not of Mary, accord- 
ing to Skeat. See Errata and Addenda in Sheat. -kin, allied to Lat. 
jyerms, race, affinity; dimin. Gray malkin=little Gray Maud? — 9. Pad- 
dock.=A " familiar," with the voice of a toad or frog? The probable 
sense is "jerker," the animal that moves by jerks. Sanscrit spand, to 
vibrate, ock is dimin. from concrete substantives. A. S. uc. Pad- 
dock-stool is toad-stool. Skeat; Gibbs. In N. E., bull-paddock = bull- 
frog.— 10. Anon (A. S., on a?i).=in one (moment)? The word was 
the ordinary answer of waiters in taverns when called. 1 Henry IV. 
II, iv. Here the witches, as inferiors, answer the call of their famil- 
iars? — 11. fair is foul, etc. = fair weather is foul for us, foul weather 
fair [Moberly] ? J,g us, perverse and malignant as we are, fair is foul, 
and foul is fair [Johnson] ? fair, is foul, and foul is fair to them in a 
moral'sense as well as in a physical [Hudson] ? See Paradise Lost, I,, 
159-165; and "Evil, be thou my good," Par. Lost, IV, 110.— 12. fllthy, 
because full of cannon smoke? Filth is Fr. foul, f r. y pu, to smell bad. 
Inter] ectional in origin (like^e.'), as if blowing away the odor with the 
lips? The suffix th, joined to verbs, denotes the action taken abstractly ; 
joined to adjectives, denotes the quality. As to the metre of this scene 
(trochaic, with occasional iambic), the critics note that Shakespeare 
uses it elsewhere to mark the language of supernatural creatures ; but 
not inval iably. 

ScEKE II. Forres, or Fores, a royal burgh and parish, Co. of 
Moray, 10 m. W. S. W. of Elgin, 25 m. from Inverness, 115 m. N. of 
Edinburgh. See map. Near by is "Sweno's Pillar," an ancient obe- 
lisk probably commemorating some victory over the Danes. Not far 
off is a "blasted heath," treeless, shrubless, one of the dreariest moors 
in Scotland.— Note that the folios do not prefix the name of the place 
to any scene. This was supplied by Capell, 1767.— 1. bloody. "Blood " 
or " bloody " reappears on almost every page, and runs like a red thread 
through the whole piece. Bodenstedt (1867). — 3. nevi-^est state = latest 
account [Moberly]? latest condition or situation? — sergeant, non- 
commissioned officer in the army [Schmidt] ? "An officer, it appears, of 
higher rank in Shakespeare's time than now, when grades are in- 
creased in number and more clearly defined." White. Lat. servientem^ 



SCENE II.] MACBETH. 53 

'Gainst my captivity — Hail, brave friend! 5 

Say to the king the knowledge of the broil 
As thou didst leave it. 

Sergeant. Doubtful it stood; 

As two spent swimmers, that do cling together 
And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald — 
Worthy to be a rebel, for to that 10 

The multiplying villanies of nature 
Do swarm upon him — from the western isles 
Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied; 
Ai\d Fortune, on his damned quarry smiling, 
Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all 's too weak; 15 

For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name — 

servjentem., serjentem; Fr. sergent. " Servant " is a doublet. The folios 
have serieant, trisyl. Scan the line. — 5. hail. Note the imperfect 
metre. The critics generally make hail a dissylable. May we suppose 
a pause, equivalent to a syllable, preceding the word? Such a metrical 
device is not uncommon in Shakespeare. May we not allow him some 
discretion in the matter? See lines 7, 20; Sprague's ed. of Hamlet^ I, 
1,129,132,135; Macbeth, 111, \, 39; Abbott's Shakes. Grammar, 484.-6. 
say. Is say so used now? — the know^ledge. White and others change 
the to thy. Needfully ? — broil. Fr. hrouiller, to mingle, embroil ; Gael. 
broiglich, noise, brawling; Welsh &roc/j, din, tumult. Compare brau'?, 
brag, imbroglio, and Lat. fragor. — 7. Fill out the metre by a pause? 
"The interval between two speakers sometimes justifies the omission 
of an accent." Abbott, 506. See line 5, line 34, 1, iv, 35, and notes. — 
9. choke = oppress, make away with, kill [Schmidt] i suffocate ? 
drown? In Mark, v, 13, the swine were " choked in the sea." Choke is 
probably imitative, like cackle, chuckle, cough. Observe the three gi-a- 
dations of this imitative root, kak, kik, kuk. Skeat. — art = skill 
[Clark and Wright] ? art of swimming? — 9. Macdonwald. So first 
folio; the others, Macdonnel; Holinshed, Macdowalcl. — 10. to that = 
to that end [Abbott, Hudson, etc.] ? for to that= because [White] i — 
12. western isles, the Hebrides, W. of Scotland, about 490 in number, 
120 being inhabited by about 100,000 speaking Gaelic. They were an- 
nexed to the Scotch crown in 1540. — 13. of kerns = with kerns ^ 
Often so in Shakes. Abbott, 171. Kerns (Irish C6ani= a man) wei-e 
light-armed with darts, daggers, or knives; gallowglasses (Irish gioUa, 
man-servant; gleae-aim, I wrestle) were heavy -armed with helmet, 
coat of mail, long sword, and axe. Both are properly Irish. See note 
on V, vii, 17. — 14. quarry. So the folios. Lat. cor, heart ; Ital. coj-ada, 
heart, with lights, liver, etc. ; Low Lat. corata = Old Fr. coree, ciiree, 
the intestines of a slain animal. Hence quarry, a heap of slaughtered 
game. The vivid imagination of the speaker transforms Macdonwald's 
throng into a heap of victims slaughtered by Macbeth ! But Hanmer 
(1744) suggested the prosy word quay^rel, meaning cause, enterprise, or 
occasion of quarrel, and most editors have adopted it, especially be- 
cause Holinshed uses it. If we can get a perfectly appropriate mean- 
ing from the folio text, why change it? Coriolanus, I, i, 203; Hamlet, V. 
ii. 352. — smiling. Delilah-like. Judges, xvi. — show'd = made a show? 
appeared [Clark and Wright]? proved [Darmesteter] ? — all, what? 
Fortune [Hunter]? language of description? Macdonwald's might? — 



54 MACBETH. [act i. 

Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish'd steel, 

Which smok'd with bloody execution, 

Like valour's minion carv'd out his passage 

Till he fac'd the slave; 20 

Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, 

Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps, 

And fix'd his head upon our battlements. 

Dti7ican. O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman! 

Sergeant. As whence the sun gins his reflection 25 

Shipwracking storms and direful thunders breaking — 

18. execution. Often in Shakes, and Milton the -ion is dissyl. — 19. 
minion = favorite, darling? Fr. migf?io?i, dainty, neat, pleasing; Ital. 
mignone, a minion ; Old H. Ger. mlnna, minni, memory, love {minne- 
singer^ singer of love) ; related to Eng. mind, man, to think. Brachet, 
Skeat. Man is the thinker. Has Lat. minus, minimum, influenced the 
meaning? — -20. The abrupt curtness of a verse brings the recital to a 
sudden check. Elwin. "Single lines with two or three accents are 
frequently interspersed amid the ordinary verses of five accents. In 
the present instance this irregular line is explained by the haste and 
excitement of the speaker." Ahbott, 511. See notes on lines 5, 7, 34. — 
21. which = and he [Darmesteter] ? who [Dyce] ? Most editors think 
the text corrupt here ; but what could be more natural than that the 
blunt, excited soldier should be slightly incorrect in speech ? But is it 
incorrect? — " Which is used interchangeably with ■who and that.'''' Ahbott, 
265. — shook hands = took leave [Hudson] ? became reconciled? We 
shake hands in token of friendship, whether at meeting, or on cessa- 
tion of enmity, or in making an agreement, or in parting. The common 
explanation here makes it identical with "bade farewell." Would "be- 
came friends " be better? — 22. from the nave. The critics object to 
this seemingly upward stroke ; but may we not safely let the enthusi- 
astic soldier tell his story in his own way, and Macbeth hack his en- ' 
emy as he is best able? Shakespeare had undoubtedly read in Nash's 
Dido (1594), "Then from the navel to the throat at once he ript old 
Priam." — 24. cousin. Duncan and Macbeth were grandsons of King 
Malcolm II, who died in 1033. Duncan repeatedly refers to this con- 
sanguinity. For the word cousin, see note on "coz," IV, ii, 14. — 25. 
gins, A. S. ginnan, to begin. "The original word whence begin is- 
formed. It should therefore never be denoted by ^gin, but the apos- 
trophe should be omitted. From |/ghan, to strike." Skeat. Hudsoa 
changes gin to gives. Well? — reflection. For -ion, see line 18. — As 
whence .... shipwrecking, etc. = as from a clear sky whence the 
light of the sun is transmitted in his full brightness [Hudson] ? as 
thunder and storms sometimes come from the east, the quarter from 
which we expect sunrise [Clark and Wright] ? The allusion is to the 
equinoctial gales ; the beginning of the reflection of the sun is the epoch 
of his passing from the severe to the mildest season, opening, however, 
with storms [Singer] ? Storms in theirextremest degree succeed often 
to a dawn of the fairest promise [Capell] ? As storms spring from the 
vernal equinox, whence the sun begins his reflex course toward us after 
passing the equator [Moberly?] Fowr explanation ! your reason? Ter- 
rible storms come from the east upon the coast of Scotland, as illus- 
trated in Hugh Miller's My Schools and Schoolmasters. For the folio 
spelling, shipwracking, see I. iii. 114. — 26. breaking. This reading of 



SCENE II.] MACBETH. 



oo 



So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come 

Discomfort swells. Mark, king of Scotland, mark: 

No sooner justice had with valour arm'd 

CompelFd these skipping kerns to trust their heels, 30 

But the Norweyan lord, surveying vantage. 

With furbish'd arms and new supplies of men 

Began a fresh assault. 

Duncan. Dismay'd not this 

Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo? • 

Sergeant. Yes; 

As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion. 35 

If I say sooth, I must report they were 
As cannons overcharg'd with double cracks; 
So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe: 
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds, 
Or memorize another Golgotha, 40 



all but the first folio was changed by Pope to break. Most editors fol- 
low him. (The first folio ends the line with thunders, and this is per- 
haps the true reading.) But though the syntax of breahing is a little 
less smooth, the present participle brings the tempest and crash of 
battle more strikingly to the mind, and that was perhaps the principal 
thing with Shakespeare ! Read, So discomfort swells from that 
spring (our costly victory, which had wearied us) whence comfort 
seemed to come ; as (like) shipwrecking storms and direful thunders 
breaking (from the east) whence (every day) the sun begins his reflec- 
tion (shining) ? The thought of Norway, off at the east, suggests the 
rest? — 28. s^vells. " The idea of a spring that had brought only com- 
fort, swelling into a disastrous flood [Elwin] ? — Mark. Note the 
freedom and boldness. Verisimilitude? — 30. skipping kerns. Why 
not gallowglasses, too? I. ii. 13. — 31. Norweyan. Holinshed has Nor- 
way gian. Better? — surveying vantage = perceiving his opportu- 
nity [Rolfe] ? watching his opportunity [Hudson] ? Vantage is a head- 
less form of Fr. avantage, fr. Lat. abante; ab from; omte, before; Fr. 
avant, before, forward ; avantage, that which advances, profits, sets us 
avant. Skeat, Bracket. — 32. furbish'd == not used since polished? — 
34. captains. The commentators make a trisyl. of this. Abbott, 477, 
506. May the sergeant's condition account for a hiatus? Line 42. — 
The Old Fr. and Mid. Eng. form was capitain, fr. Low Lat. capitanus; 
fr. Lat. caput, head. — 36. sooth (A. S. sodh, true) meant originally no 
more than "being," "that which is," hence " that which is real, truth," 
and was at first the present particible of |/ as, to be. Skeat. — 37. can- 
nons. Anachronism? — cracks = reports? elf ect for cause ? metonymy ? 
Crrtc/f was a word of emphasis and dignity in Shakespeare's time; he 
terms the general dissolution of nature the crack of doom in IV, i, 117. 
Johnson. — 38. So they .... foe. An Alexandrine line which many 
have tried to reduce to a pentameter. Needlessly ? — 39. except = un- 
less? Present usage? — 40. memorize = make memorable? modern 
meaning? Henry VHI, IH, ii, 52. — Golgotha (place of a skull), 
where our Savior was crucified, is our Calvary (fr. Lat. calva, bare 



56 MACBETH. [act i. 

I cannot tell — 

But I am faint, my gashes cry for help. 

Duncan. So well thy words become thee as thy wounds; 
They smack of honor both. — Go get him surgeons. 

[^Exit Sergeant, attended. 
Who comes here? 

Enter Ross. 

Matcolm. The worthy thane of Ross. 45 

Lennox. What a haste looks through his eyes! So should 
he look 
That seems to speak things strange. 

lioss. God save the king! 

Duncan. Whence camest thou, worthy thane? 

Hoss. From Fife, great king; 

Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky 
And fan our people cold. Norway himself, 50 

scalp). Mark, xv. 22; John, xix. 17. — 41. cannot tell, what? For the 
metre, see lines 20, 7, 5 ; Abhott, 511. — 43. so. Bearing in mind that as 
is simply a contraction for all-so {alse, als, as), we shall not be surprised 
at some interchange of so and as. Abhott, 275. — 43. smack. A. S. 
smaec; Ger. schmecken, to taste. Wedgwood regards it as imitative of 
sound. — 45. thane. A dignitary among the English. A. S. thegen, 
thegn, thin, mature, grown up; tak, to generate; Gr. tckvov, a child. 
Skeat. "An Anglo-Saxon nobleman inferior in rank to an earl or ald- 
erman." Bosworth. See V, viii, 62, 63, 64. — 46. a haste. So first 
folio ; the others omit a. Which reading best gives the impression of 
rapidity? Note the vividness in the personification of haste ! See III, 
i, 127. —should = would? ought to [Abbott, 323J ? I, iii, 45; V, v, 31. 

— 47. seems, etc. = appearance corresponds with the strangeness of 
his message [Clark and Wright] ? has the air of bringing strange news 
[Darmesteter] ? appears to be on the point of speaking things strange 
[Heath] ? is like a man in a dumb show expressing a tragical catas- 
trophe [Fleay] ? "Shakespeare undoubtedly said teems!" John- 
son. Comes, seeks, deems, have also been suggested for seems. Wisely? 
Richard II, III, ii, 194-197. — 48. Fife, a Scotch county and peninsula, 
with the North Sea, the Friths of Tay and Forth, on the east, north, 
and south, respectively. In round numbers the two battle-fields 
were about 100 miles apart! — 49. flout = mock? often so in Shakes. 
Merely a peculiar use of flute as a verb, borrowed from Old Du. fluyten, 
to play the flute, to jeer, impose on. Lat. flare, to blow. Skeat. Gray, 
in his Bard, lines 2, 3, 4, beautifully utilizes Shakespeare's metaphor. 

— 50. fan .... cold == chill . . . with apprehension [Elwin] ? "The 
standards being taken by Duncan's forces and fixed in the ground, the 
colors idly flapped about, serving only to cool the conquerors." So 
Clark and Wright. Was ever metaphor squeezed drier? Ross is liv- 
ing over again the events of the day. Again he sees the Scotch forces 
filled with chilling apprehension at sight of the multitudinous Norwe- 
gian banners, that seem to have brought the cold air of the northeast 
with them? By contrast the splendor of Macbeth' s achievements is 



i 



SCENE II.] MACBETH. 57 

With terrible numbers, 

Assisted by that most disloyal traitor, 

The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict; 

Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof, 

Confronted him with self-comparisons, 55 

Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainst arm, 

Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude, 

The victory fell on us. 

Tieightened? — Norway himself. See note on IV, iii, 43 ; also Hamlet, our 
edition, I, i, 61. — 51. terrible numbers. Pope changed this to 7ium- 
bers terrible. He improved the metre ; but with what effect upon the 
energy and naturalness i — 53. Ca^vdor, a parish of the counties of 
Nairn and Inverness. Cawdor Castle, an imposing fortress in excellent 
preservation and still used as a summer residence by the Earl of Caw- 
dor, is about five miles south of Nairn and about fifteen from Inverness. 
In it Lord Lovat, the Jacobite conspirator, was long concealed. There 
is a tradition that Duncan was murdered here. Holinshed alludes to 
the treason of the thane, but says nothing of his connection with the 
invading Norwegians. — 54. till that. Is that here a demonstrative? 
a conjuctional affix ? Abbott, 287. — Bellona's. Roman goddess of war, 
sister and wife of Mars. Shakes, may have read in Virgil (.^neid, III., 
S19.), Et Bellona manet te prounba, and, as brides-maid, Bellona awaits 
you. Is Macbeth likened to Mars? — lapp'd. "An older form was 
wlappen; lap is a» corruption of wrap. The Mid. Eng. form wlappen 
explains the latter part of the words de-velop, en-velop. Skeat. — proof 
= armor that has been tested and found impenetrable? Lat. probare; 
Old Fr. preuver; Mod. Fr. prouver, to try, prove, test; Late Lat. pro&a, 
Ital. prova, proof. — 55. confronted him with self-comparisons = 
g-ave him (Norway) as good as he brought [WarburtonJ ? met him at 
equality, equal arms, equal valor [Capell] ? with self-compai^isons = in 
such a way that each might fully compare himself with his adversary 
[Moberly] ? acts of comparing or measuring himself with the other 
personally [Schmidt] ? in personal conflict to prove which combatant 
was the better man [Clark and Wright] ? with self matching self [our 
Masterpieces in Eng. Lit., p. 112]? Hudson reads caparisons, and ex- 
plains: " Caparisons for arms, offensive and defensive, the trappings 
and furniture of personal fighting. Here, as often, self is equivalent to 
selfsame. Self-caparisons means that they were both armed in the self- 
same way. It was Scot against Scot." Your judgment? Does him 
mean the king of Norway or Cawdor? If the latter, why should Mac- 
beth in I, iii, 73 call him "a prosperous gentleman? " If the former, 
why should his sword-point or arm be called "rebellious? " —56. re- 
bellious arm? or rebellious point? Some think that rebellious (fr. 
Lat. re, meaning bach or again, and bellum, meaning war) signifies war- 
ring bacli, opposing. Shakes, almost always uses rebel and its deriva- 
tions in a bad sense. Duncan being rightful lord of Scotland, could 
Sweno, allied with Cawdor, be said to wield a rebellious sword? Could 
Macbeth vanquish Cawdor and yet not know his antagonist in I, iii. 72, 
73 ? The folios place the comma after point. — 57. lavish = unbounded 
in the indulgence of passion [Clark and Wright] ? overweening [Mo- 
berly] ? unrestrained [Rolf e] ? —lavish spirit = reckless or prodigal 
daring [Hudson] ? — 58. that now. " So before that is very frequently 
omitted." Abbott, 283. "Rarely we have a short line (like that now) 



58 MACBETH [act i. 

Duncan. Great happiness! 

Boss. That now 

Sweno, the Norways' king, craves composition; 
Nor would we deign him burial of his men 60 

Till he disbursed at Saint Colme's Inch 
Ten thousand dollars to our general use. 

Duncan. No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive 
Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, 
And with his former title greet Macbeth. 65 

Moss. I '11 see it done. 

Duncan. What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won. 

\ExeunU 

Scene III. A Heath. 

Thunder. Eyiter the three Witches. 

First Witch. Where hast thou been, sister? 

Second Witch. Killing swine. 

Third Witch. Sister, where thou? 

First Witch. A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap. 

to introduce the subject. " Abhott, 511. — 59. Norways'=Norwegians» 
[Rolfe] ? Abbott, 433. — composition = an arrangement, treaty [Mo- 
berly] i terms of peace [Clark and Wright] ? armistice [Hudson] ? Lat. 
componere, to put together ; con, together ; ponere, to place ; compositio, 
a putting together. —61. disbursed. Old Fr. des-, fr. Lat. dis, apart; 
Pr. bourse; Low Lat. bursa, a purse; Gr. jSupen?, bursa, a hide, skin, 
of which purses were made. Skeat. — Saint Colme's Inch = St. Col- 
umb's Island, Inchcolm, Inchcomb? In the Frith of Forth, near the 
coast of Fife, 2 m. south of Aberdour, and not fai from Edinburgh. 
It contains the remains of a monastery founded in 1123, and still older 
ruins. St. Columb, who died in 597, is said to have resided here for a 
time. The island is not to be confounded with Colme-kill, II, iv, 33 — 
Colme is a dissyl. —Inc/i, Gael, inis; Lat. insula; Eng. isle, fr. Lat. in 
salo, in the main sea, salum being cognate with Gr. o-aAo?, sales (for 
o-FaAos, swalos), the swell or surge of the sea, cognate with Eng. 
swell. Thus insula = in the swell of the sea. Skeat. — Inch is found in 
the names of many Scotch islands. — 62. dollars. Ger. thaler, fr. thai, 
a dale. First coined about 1518 in the valley of St. Joachim, Bohemia. 
Is the anachronism a serious matter? I, ii, 37; II, ii, 70. — 64. bosom 
interest = close and intimate affection [Clark and Wright] ? interest= 
concern, advantage [Schmidt]? — present = early? instant? Thia 
word, like the phrase by and by, has lost in force. In Shakespeare's 
time, they meant immediate and immediately. See Matthew, xxvi, 53; 
xiii, 21 ; Luke, xxi, 9. Scan the line. As to the genuineness of this 
scene, see Dowden's Shakespeare'' s Mind and Art, p. 218, and the author- 
ities there cited. Could it be omitted without serious loss? 

Scene III. — 2. swine. Witches specially hated swine. "Pres- 
ently after her (the witch's) departure, his (Lathburie's) hogs fell sick 
and died to the number of twenty." A Detection of Damnable Dritfs 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 59 

And munch'd, and munch'd, and miinch'd. ' Give me,' 
quoth I: 5 

'Aroint thee, witch!' the rump-fed ronyon cries. 
Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger: 
But in a sieve I '11 thither'sail. 
And, like a rat without a tail, 
I '11 do, I '11 do, and I '11 do. 10 

Second Witch. I '11 give thee a wind. 

First Witch. Thou 'rt kind. 

Third Witch. And I another. 

First Witch. I myself have all the other, 

Practiced hy Three Witches (1579), quoted by Stevens. — 5. munch'd = 
chewed with closed lips? "mumbl'd with toothless gums?" imitative 
word? Mid. Eng. mom, mum, expressive of the least possible sound 
with the lips, whence mumble and mummer. We cannot deduce it from 
Fr. manger, for phonetic reasons ; but manger may have helped to sug- 
gest the special sense. Manger, to eat, is fr. luat. manducdre, to chew. 
Skeat. — Give me. She wants chestnuts to eat? orforher magic mixture? 
— Quoth. A. S., cwethan, to speak; past tense civeth, spoke, said; 
whence queath in bequeath; Mid. Eng. quod or quoth. — 6. Aroint thee 
= begone? " It is a corruption of the provincial Eng. rynt ye, or rynt 
you, used by milkmaids in Cheshire to a cow when she has been milked, 
to bid her get out of the way. Clark and Wright. — Icel. ryma, to make 
room, to clear the way. Rynt ye is an easy corruption of rime ta, i. e., 
do thou make room; where ta is for thou. Skeat. — Lear, III, iv, 115. — 
rump-fed = fed on offal [Colepepper] ? fat-rumped [Nares, and 
Schmidt] ? " She fed on the best joints; I hungry and begging for a 
chestnut." Moberly. — ronyon = scurvy drab [White]? scabby or 
mangy woman [Grey] ?— Fr. rogne, the itch ; fr. Lat. robiginem, rust, 
scab, itch ; whence Old Fr. roigne and Fr. rogneux. Brachet. — 7. Aleppo. 
InHakluyt's Voyages (1589), the ship Tiger, of London, .is said to have 
made a voyage in 1583 to Tripolis, whence several passengers went by 
caravan to Aleppo, about seventy miles from the Mediterranean. In 
Twelfth Night, V, i, 56, a ship is called Tiger. — 8. sieve. In January, 
1591, one Dr. Fian, a notorious sorcerer, was burned at the stake in 
Edinburgh, convicted of sailing the sea in a sieve ! The Gr. 67rl piTrov<^ 
TrXelv, to go to sca in a sieve, was proverbial for an enterprise ex- 
tremely difficult or impossible. It was a favorite style of navigation 
with witches, who "can sail in an egg-shell, a cockle or muscle-shell, 
through and under the tempestuous sea. " Scot's Discovery of Witch- 
craft, 1584. — 9. tail. A witch could take the shape of any animal, but 
it would be minus a tail ! Similarly deficient was a werewolf (man met- 
amorphosed into a wolf). — 10. I'll do— what? raise the winds [Dar- 
mesteter] ? gnaw a hole through the ship's hull and make her leak 
[Clark and Wright] ? work wild mischief generally? — "Tails are the 

rudders of water animals, as the rat is occasionally She would 

find her port without rudder, as well as sail in a sieVe." Capell. — 11. 
wind. Witches were supposed to sell winds. In Summer-'s Last Will 
and Testament, a play by Nash (1600), we read: 

" In Ireland and in Denmark both, 
Witches for gold will s_ell a man a wind," etc. 
Ulysses tells how ^olus, "having flayed, gave me a wallet of the hide 



^0 MACBETH, [act i. 

And the very ports they blow, 15 

All the quarters that they know 

I' the shipman's card. 

I '11 drain him dry as hay: 

Sleep shall neither night nor day 

Hang upon his pent-house lid; 20 

He shall live a man forbid: 

Weary se'nnights nine times nine 

Shall he dwindle, peak and pine: 

Though his bark cannot be lost, 

Yet it shall be tempest-tost. 25 

Look what I have. 

Second Witch. Show me, show me. 

of a nine-years-old ox, and therein he bound fast the ways of the howl- 
ing winds." Odyssey X, 19, 20. In Macbeth IV, i, 52, Macbeth says to 
the witches, "Though you untie the winds," etc. — 15. blow — to? or 
fromf or upon [Steevens] ? — 17. card = chart [White, Hunter,Dyce, 
etc.] ? circular card on which the points of the compass are marked 
[Clark and Wright, Schmidt, Moberly, etc.] 1 — " John Danesco said that 
he had seen the sea-card, and that . . the coast ran east and west." Hak- 
luyt's Virginia Richly Valued (1609). — Shipmen in i Kings, ix, 27; Acts, 
xxvii, 27,30. — 18. drain — by my witchcraft? — Holinshed (1577), de- 
scribing the bewitching of King Duffe (968-972), says : " The soldiers, 
.... breaking into the house, found one of the witches roasting upon 
a wooden brooch an image of wax .... resembling in each feature the 
king's peraon Another of them sat reciting certain words of en- 
chantment, and still basted the image As the image did waste 

before the fire, so did the body of the king break forth in sweat. And 
as for the words of enchantment, they served to keep him still waking 
from sleep; so that, as the wax ever melted, so did the king's flesh." 
It was an old superstition. In Virgil (Eclogue viii, 81, 82), as also in The- 
ocritus, an image of wax, or wax and clay resembling Daphnis, is 
treated in like manner. Horace alludes to the practice in his seven- 
teenth epode, and eighth satire, first book. — 20. pent-house (corrup- 
tion of Pr. pentis, pentice, or appentis, shed, pent-house, Lat. appendi- 
cium, appendage; ad, to, pendere, to hang), an "appendage" or out- 
building; ashed projecting from a building. Brachet, Skeat. — The eye- 
lid is so called without any reference to the eyebrow, simply because 
it slopes like the roof of a pent-house or lean-to. Clark and Wright. — 
The transfer of French words to English often strikingly attests the 
ignorance of our ancestors. Thus ecrevisse became crayfish ; chartreuse, 
charter-house; c/iattsee, causeway; hie de Mars (March wheat) , bloody 
Mars ; Bellerophon (classical proper name given to a French ship of 
war) , Bully-ruffian ; guelques choses, kick-shaws ! — 21. forbid = under 
an interdict, ban, or curse? The punishment was severe, cutting off 
the excommunicated from the society and the friendly offices of all 
men. — 22. se'nnights. We have lost the word for seven nights, though 
we retain the " fortnight " (f ourteen-nights) . The old Eng. night, year, 
etc. , had no plural ? — 23. d^vindle, etc. "Pining away, the disease now 
known as marasmus, was one of the evils most commonly attributed to 
witchcraft." i'Miite. — peak = grow sharp-featured? — Peak is akin to 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 61 

First Witch. Here I have a pilot's thumb, 
Wreck'd as homeward he did come. [^Drwn imtkin. 

Third Witch. A drum, a drum! 30 

Macbeth doth come. 

All. The weird sisters, hand in hand, 
Posters of the sea and land, 
Thus do go about, about: 

Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine, 35- 

And thrice again, to make up nine. 
Peace! the charm's wound up. 

Enter Macbeth cmd Banquo. 

Macbeth. So foul and fair a day I have not seen. 

Banquo. How far is 't calPd to Forres? What are these 
So wither'd and so w^ld in their attire, 40 

That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth. 
And yet are on 't? — Live you? or are you aught 
That man may question? You seem to understand me, 
By each at once her choppy finger laying 



pi/ce, and Irish peac, a sharp-pointed thing. — 28. thumb. Good for 
the caldron, IV, i, 3-38?— The deep longings of his last moments gave 
magic power to the parts of his body [Moberly] ? — pilot's ...... 

wrecked. "Macbeth is the pilot who has saved the vessel of the 
state, and on his own homeward way he is met by the temptation that 
shall wreck his life." MoHey.— 32. weird=unearthly, wild and super- 
natural?— A. S. wijrd, wird, wurd, fate, destiny; that which happens ; 
weorthan, allied to Ger. werden, to become, to happen. White would 
sound the e as long a. The Latin word Parcae (the three fates or god- 
desses of destiny) in Virgil is translated by Gawin Douglas (1513) by 
"weird sisters." See Holinshed, quoted on p. 21. —33. posters = 
swift couriers? Post originally = something ^xed; as, a stake in the 
ground; afterward a fixed station; next, the person that passed regu- 
ularly, as to carry letters, between the stations ; then any swift trav- 
eller. Lat. ponere, to place; positus, placed.— 35. thrice. Note the magic 
numbers, 3, 9, and 9 times 9. Others ?— Pythagoras called 3 the perfect 
number, expressive of "beginning, middle, and end," and symbolic of 
Deity. The witches go round the ring three times for each witch? 
They enchant the place where Macbeth is to appear [Darmesteter] ? — 
38 foul and fair = foul as to weather, fair as to victory [Elwin, 
Darmesteter, etc.] ? foul and fair as to the varying fortune of the day 
[Delius] ? foul aud fair as to weather changed by witchcraft [Clark 
and Wright] ? — Dowden, noting the resemblance between this line and 
I, i, 11, says, "Shakespeare intimates by this that, although Macbeth 
has not yet set eyes upon these hags, the connection is already estab- 
lished between his soul and them. Their spells have already wrought 
upon his blood." Likely?— 43. question = converse with [Schmidt] ? 
ask questions of? Mer. of Venice, TV, i, 65, 337; Hamlet, I, i, 45. —44. 
choppy. Spelled also chappy. Mid. Eng. chappen, choppen, to cut; 
to gape open as if cut ; chap, to cleave, crack ; a cleft. Allied to Gr. 



62 MACBETH. [act i. 

Upon her skinny lips: you should be women, 45 

And yet your beards forbid me to interpret 
That you are so, 

Macbeth. Speak, if you can: what are you; 

Fir8t Witch. All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of 
Glamis! 

Seco7id Witch. All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of 
Cawdor! 

Tliird Witch. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king 
hereafter! 50 

JBanquo. Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear 
Things that do sound so fair? — I' the name of truth 
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed 
Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner 
You greet with present grace and great prediction 55 

Of noble having and of royal hope. 
That he seems rapt withal: to me you speak not. 

KoTTTcii', koptein, to cut, c?Jop. — 45. should, etc. = Your general ap- 
pearance makes me suppose you are [Clark and Wright] i I, ii, 46 ; V, 
V, 31. — 46. beards. In Beaumont and Fletcher {Honest MaiVs For- 
tune) a beard is said to be a token of a witch. See, too, Merry Wives of 
TF., IV, ii, 169. — 48. Glamis (monosyllable in Scotch pronunciation; 
a is sounded as in alms), a parish of Forfarshire, 5>^ m. S. W. of For- 
far, about 25 m. N. E. of Perth. The castle, beautifully situated, is 
stately, and very impressive from its magnificence and its historical 
associations. See Rolfe's ed. of Macheth, p. 160. — 51. Avhy do yovi 
start? Why more than Banquo ? A very suggestive manifestation, 
this starting? — 53. fantastical = creatures of fantasy [Johnson, 
White, etc.]? imaginary [Schmidt]? quaint and capricious^ Holin- 
shed's word. — 54. show = appear^ I, ii, 15. — 55, 56. present grace 
= thaneship of Glamis [Hunter] ? present grace referring to noble hav- 
ing [Clark and Wright] ? — great prediction of noble having = 
thaneship of Cawdor [Hunter]? great prediction refevrhig to royal hope 
[Clark and Wright] ? Clark and Wright make both the ' 'present grace' ' 
and the "noble having" alike include the two thaneships, and they 
make the " great prediction " refer to "royal hope" alone; but Hunter, 
if we rightly understand him, would have the "present grace" in- 
clude the thaneship of Glamis only, the "noble having " include the 
thaneship of Cawdor only, and the " great prediction " include both 
the thaneship of Cawdor and the kingship. — Your view, and your rea- 
sons for it? — having = possession, estate? — 57. that = which? so 
that [Clark and Wright, Hudson, Rolfe, etc.] ? I, ii, 58. — rapt=trans- 
ported, entranced, absorbed in ecstacy? — Lat. rap^re^ to snatch away; 
raptus, caught away or up, ravished. Does the word, like "ecstacy," 
III, ii, 21, show that they entertained decided views as to the possible 
existence of the soul apart from the body? — The folios have wrapt, but 
all the editors adopt Pope's change to rapt. Properly? — withal (in 
the first folios, withall) = with? with it? with it all, or with them all? 
Emphatic at end of sentence for with, or ivith it, ov in addition, etc. 
Abhott, 196. As You Like It, I, ii, 22; III, ii, 291, 292, 293, etc; Mer. of 



SCENE in.J MACBETH. 03 

If you can look into the seeds of time, 
And say which grain will grow and which will not, 
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear 60 

Your favors nor your hate. 

First Witch. Hail I 

Second Witch. Hail! 

Third Witch. Hail I 

First Witch. Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. 65 

Second Witch. Not so happy, yet much happier. 

Third Witch. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be 
none: So all hail, Macbeth and Banquol 

First Witch. Banquo and Macbeth, all hail! 

Macbeth. Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more: "70 
By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis; 
But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives, 
A prosperous gentleman; and to be king 
Stands not within the prospect of belief, 
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence 75 

You owe this strange intelligence? or why 
Upon this blasted heath you stop our v/ay 
With such prophetic greeting? speak, I charge you. 

[ Witches vanish. 



Fe?t., Ill, iv, 72. — 58. seeds. Vividness of imagination? felicitous or 
strained? — 60, 61. beg . . . favors . . . fear . . . hate? For a similar 
distribution, see lines 55, 56; Winter^s Tale, III, ii, 164, 165; Ham- 
let, our edition. III, i, 151. — 65. lesser. Still used adjectively, but never 
adverbially [Rolfe] ? — 66. happy = foriunate, like Lat. felix [Rolfe. 
Schmidt] i auspicious? — 2. hapjiier, more blessed [Schmidt] ? — 67. get. 
Was Banquo really an ancestor of the Stuarts? — 70. Stay, etc. Con- 
trast the mental attitude of Macbeth with that of Banquo towards the 
witches. — 71. Sinel's. So Holinshed. His true name was Finleg, 
says Ritson. Beattie conjectured Sinane, and that Dunsinane (hill of 
SinaneO IV, i, 93, thence got its name. Reasonable? —73. prosper- 
ous. Had Macbeth just vanquished him? Is he merely testing the 
witches? See lines 108-116; I, ii, 56. "It appears that Cawdor was 
taken prisoner; for in the same scene the king commands his present 
death." Johnson. " It not only does not appear that Cawdor was taken 
prisoner in the battle, but Shakes, is careful to show that he was not 
in the battle. " Morley. Which? —74. prospect of belief. Is belief 
personified here? See "eye of honor," Mer. of Ven., I, i, i:37. — 75. no 
more = any more. Force of double negative in Shakes. ? Abbott, 406, 
explains the repetition as originating in "a desire of emphasis." — 76. 
owe = are under obligation to impart? are in debt for, possess, have? 
A. S. agan, to possess, to have. The change from a to o is perfectly 
regular. The g passes into w as usual. Mid. Eng. awen, owen, orig. to 
possess. Ou-eri, pp.. shortened to oti'?( = possessed. Skeat. Ouje= pos- 



64 ' MACBETH. [act i. 

JBanquo. The earth hath bubbles as the water has, 
And these are of them. Whither are they vanish'd? 80 

Macbeth. Into the air; and what seem'd corporal melted 
As breath into the wind. Would they had stay'd! 

Banquo. Were such things here as we do speak about? 
Or have we eaten on the insane root 
That takes the reason prisoner? 85 

Macbeth. Your children shall be kings. 

Banquo. You shall be king. 

Macbeth. And thane of Cawdor too: went it not so? 

Banquo. To the selfsame tune and words. Who's here? 

Enter Ross and Angus. , 

Boss. The king hath happily received, Macbeth, 
The news of thy success; and when he reads 90 

Thy personal venture in the rebels' fight. 
His wonders and his praises do contend 
Which should be thine or his: silenc'd with that, 

sess in III, iv, 113? Often so in Shakes. — 79. bubbles. Shakespeare's 
seething imagination bubbles up in the speech of his most prosaic char- 
acters! — 80. of them. Partitive o/, or possessive? — 81. corporal = 
material? pertaining to the body ? "Shakes, never uses corporeal or 
incorporeal." — seem'd. Emphatic [Elwin] ? — 84. eaten on =:fed on 
[MoberlyJ ? "If you feed your minister on gruel week-days, he vv^ill 
feed you on gruel Sundays." Talmage. — "lam glad on 't," Mer. of 
Ven., II, vi, 66; "I am glad of it," Mer. of Ven., Ill, i, 95. — insane = 
making insane? prolepsis { — root=hemlock[SteevensJ ?deadly night- 
shade [Clark and WrightT ? hyoscyamus [Jean Bauhin, 1619J ? Douce 
and White think it was henbane (hyoscyamus niger) . V, i,60. — 88. 
How may we explain the incompleteness of this line? I, ii, 5, 7, 20. 
— 86. Your children, etc. Envy and fear have already seized upon 
him : here is the germ of the soliloquy (of Macbeth) in III, i [Darmes- 
teter] ? — 89. The folio has Rosse; but that, spelled with an e, wa« "an 
"an Irish dignity." The Scottish title, which omits the e, really be- 
longed to Macbeth, who, by the death of his father, Finley, was right- 
fully thane or "maormor" of Ross [French's Shakespeareana Oeneal- 
ogica, 1869]? — 91. rebels' or rebeVs? Why? — 92, 93. his wonders 
and his praises do contend Avhich should be thine or his. — 
" ' Thine' refers to ' praises,' ' his ' to ' wonders,' and the meaning is: 
There is a conflict in the king's mind between his astonishment at the 
achievement and his admiration of the achiever ; he knows not how 
sufficiently to express his own wonder and to praise Macbeth ; so that 
he is reduced to silence." Clark and Wright. " His wonder, which is 
his own, contends with his praise, which is yours." Moherly, quoted 
by Rolfe. Does praise belong to Macbeth more than wonder, or won- 
der to Duncan more than praise? Does it mean that the expression of 
wonder contends with the expression of praise? or that the 
emotion of wonder vies with the ability to praise? — Hudson changes 
which to what, and interprets thus: " His wonders and his praises are 



SCENE irr.] MACBETH. 65 

In viewing o'er the rest o' the selfsame day, 

He finds thee in the stout Xorweyan ranks, 95 

Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make, 

Strange images of death. As thick as tale 

so earnest and enthusiastic that they seem to be debating or 
raising the question whether what is his ought not to be thine — 
whether you ought not to be in his place."' Hudson adds despairingly, 
•■ Commentators have tugged mighty hard to wring a coherent and in- 
telligible meaning out of the old readings, and I have tugged mighty 
hard to understand their explanations: but all the hard tugging has 
been in vain." In our MaMeryjieces in English Literature, p. 115. the 
passage is interpreted thus : *• His wonders and his praises do contend 
(with each other;, which should be (i. e., which should survive the 
other, wonder struggling with the utterance of praise, a struggle for 
existence;, thine or his (i- e.. -thine,' the praise: -his.' the wonders;. 
.... Adiniration contends with ability to praise, overpowers his 
speech, and the result is silence. " ' This vivid personification is quite in 
Shakespeare's manner: but. on more mature reflection, the present 
editor inclines to a different explanation, which he first published in 
Education ("Boston;, May number. 1SS7. There is no need of changing 
the text. The king speaks, though vaguely, of '-a greater honor."" of 
which the thaneship of Cawdor is but -an earnest."' That •• greater 
honor "' can hardly be anything less than the crown itself. Originally 
(see Sir Walter Scott" s Summary, p. 14; the claim of Macbeth to the 
throne was better than Duncan" s. and now Macbeth has by his valor 
saved Scotland, while old Duncan has done nothing. Duncan is con- 
scious of •• ingratitude"" (I. iv. line 15; in bestowing nothing but the 
petty thanedom of Cawdor as a reward for Macbeth" s brilliant serv- 
ices: wishes- -that the proportion both of thanks and pa^Tnent" (iv, 
19; might have been in his (Duncan"s; power to bestow, but feels that 
-• more is due"" to Macbeth --than more than all'" (more than the en- 
tire kingdom; •• can pay."' The kingdom is Macbeth"s by right, Dun- 
can" s by possession. AVhose shall it be ? He is in doubt which thing 
to give Macbeth, which thing to retain as his own : and a contest like 
that between night and morning (HI, iv, 127; arises. In this mood. 
-•His wonders and his praises do contend (as to; which (i. e., which 
thing, be it dignity, wealth, power, the forfeited thanedom. or the king- 
dom itself; should (ought to; be thine (Macbeth"s; or his."' Ross and 
Angus evidently think the magnanimous king is on the point of abdi- 
cating in favor of his heroic cousin. But the king, after hinting at 
such abdication, prudently checks himself, -silenced with that." — 
Test these explanations. — 96. afeard. Shakes, uses afeard 32 times. 
afraid i4 times. Rolfe. — Xothin^-. So ■fornfthinfj and all tfiings are used 
adverbially in this play. — 97. images of death. A recollection of 
pfarirtia mortis imago, very many an image of death (^^neid H. .%9; ' 
This is usually interpreted as meaning corpses! Is it not rather the 
shapes in which Death presents himself ? Or should we pause after of, 
and interpret. --Xothing afraid of death, which thou didst make strange 
images of? "" See Masterpieces, p. 115. — tale (A. S. talu. number, reck- 
oning: Ger. zahl). count, counting. Man^- editors have substituted 
hail, but does not hail suggest down-falling, pelting with --unsuccessive 
multitudinous rapidity T" " To say that men arrived as fast as they 
could be counted is an admissible hyperbole: to say that men arrived 
as close together as hail-stones in a storm is equally absurd and ex- 
travagant." White. Elwin finds in line KXJ confirmation of the sug- 



66 MACBETH. [act i. 

Came post with post, and every one did bear 
Thy praises in his kingdom's great defence, 
And pour'd them down before him. ■ 

Angus. We are sent 100 

To give thee from our royal master thanks; 
Only to herald thee into his sight. 
Not pay thee. 

Itoss. And for an earnest of a greater honor, 
He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor: 105 

In which addition, hail, most worthy thane! 
For it is thine. 

Banqiio. What, can the devil speak true? 

Macbeth. The thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress 
me 
In borrow'd robes. 

Angus. Who was the thane lives yet, 

But under heavy judgment bears that life 110 

Which he deserves to lose. Whether he wa^ combin'd 
With those of Norway, or did line the rebel 
With hidden help and vantage, or that with both 
He labour'd in his country's wrack, I know not; 

gestion that hail is the right word; for "the messengers dis- 
charged themselves of their news as melting hail pours forth its wa- 
ters." But does thick-coming hail instantly pour forth its waters? If 
tale, makes good sense, have we a right to substitute a different word ? 
I, ii, 14. — 98. came. The folios have can. All the editors change it. 
Rightfully ^ — 104. earnest. Welsh ernes., erw, a pledge ; perhaps allied 
to Gr. appajSwv, arrabo, earnest-money, fr. Hebrew erabon, a pledge; 
Lat. arrha, Gael, arra, a pledge. Skeat. — 106. addition. Hamlet, I, 
iv, 20. A title given to a man besides his Christian and surname, show- 
ing his estate, degree, mystery, trade, place of dwelling, etc. Cowel's 
Law Diet. — See III, i, 99. — 107. devil, Necessarily a monosyl. here? 
See below on line 111.— 108. dress, etc. Metaphorical? Hunter thinks 
that a real ceremony of investiture takes place here, as Sir David 
Murray was actually so invested April 7, 1605, for a service to James 
similar to that of Macbeth to Duncan, and that this circumstance helps 
to fix the date of the play. Probable? See Rolfe, p. 164. — 109. who — 

— ? Abhott, 251. — Ill to 114. whether , wrack. Discrepancy 

between this account and that in Scene ii ? — Avhether, etc. Each line 
requires five accented syllables. May we scan thus : -^ — , -^ — . -^ — . 
— ^^^.. -^^^ — ? Abbott, 486, shorten whether to whe''r, and he was to h'' was, 
and accents was.' This preserves the metre, but spoils the sense? — 
112. line = strengthen, fortify? — Lat. linum, flax; A. S. lin, flax, linen. 
To line garments is, properly, to put if.men inside them? — vantage. 
" A headless form of advantage." Skeat. See I, ii, 31. — 114. wrack. 
So the folios, for wreck. Wrack is a doublet of wreck. A. S. wrace, ex- 
pulsion-; wraecan, to drive ; Du. wrak, wreck. The literal sense is that 
which drifted or driven ashore. Mod. Pr. varech, sea-weed cast on 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 67 

But treasons capital, confess'd and prov'd, 115 

Have overthrown him. 

Macbeth. [Aside.] Glamis, and thane of Cawdor! 
The greatest is behind. — Thanks for your pains. — 
Do you not hope your children shall be kings, 
When those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me 
Promis'd no less to them? 

Banqiio. That trusted home 130 

Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, 
Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 't is strange: 
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm. 
The instruments of darkness tell us truths, 
Win us with honest trifles, to betray 's 135 

In deepest consequence. — 
Cousins, a word, I pray you. 

Macbeth. [Aside.] Two truths are told, 

As happy prologues to the swelling act 
Of the imperial theme. — I thank you, gentlemen. 
[Aside.] This supernatural soliciting 130 

Cannot be ill, cannot be good; if ill, 
Why hath it given me earnest of success, 
Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor: 
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion 

shore, and pieces of a wrecked ship cast on shore. Skeat, Bracket. — 119. 
The thane = The thane himself? the title [Clark and Wright] ? — 120. 
home = to the utmost [Dyce] ? Theorig. sense is resting-place. |/ki, 
to rest; Keltnai keimai I lie, allied to Gr. Kui/uT/, kome, a village. 
A. S. ham, home, dwelling. Skeat. — 121. enkindle = incite you to 
hope for [Clai-k and Wright] ? "exalt your rank by making you " the 
possessor of [J. F. Brown, in Shakespeariana, April, 1884] ? — 126. How 
fill out the line? I, ii, 7, 34. — 127. cousins. Cousin was loosely used 
for any relative; as nephew, niece, uncle, brother-in-law, grandchild; 
or sometimes it was a merely complimentary title. — Low Lat. cosinus, 
fr. consohrinus; con for cum, together; sobrinus, a cousin-german by the 
mother's side, fr. sosor, soror, sister. — Banquo's simple and grand 
words, 120-127, are either unheard or willfully put aside [Moberly] ? 
This warning, 120-127, comes oddly enough from the lips of a man who 
has just questioned the witches himself with such haste and eagerness. 
Here we have the first glimpse of the deceit and falsehood practiced 
by Banquo upon himself [Flathe] ? Is Banquo honest^ — 129. pro- 
logues .... act. Shakes, is fond of metaphors drawn from the the- 
atre, n, iv, 5, 6; As You Like It, 11, vii, 139-166, "All the world's a 
stage," etc. — happy. As in line 66? — 130. soliciting = incitement 
[Johnson] ? " earnestly asking." Macbeth is asked to pelieve, not to do 
[J.F.Brown, in Shakespeariana, April, 1S64] ? — 134. 'suggestion = 
prompting, temptation [Clark and Wright] ? a theological word, one of 
the three "procurators or tempters " of Sin, Delight and Consent being 



68 MACBETH. J act i. 

Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair 135 

And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, 
Against the use of nature? Present fears 
Are less than horrible imaginings: 
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, 
Shakes so my single state of man that function 140 

Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is 
But what is not. 
- JBanquo. Look how our partner 's rapt. 

Macbeth. [Aside.'] If chance will have me king, why, 
chance may crown me, 
Without my stir. 
Banquo. New honors come upon him, 

the others [Hunter]? — Lat. sugr for sub, under; get^ere, to carry; sug- 
gestus, carried under, introduced indirectly, hinted. — Tempest^ IV, i, 
26. — Duncan not having announced the succession, is Macbeth over- 
hasty ? —135. unfix my hair. See V, v, 11-13 ; Hamlet, I, v, 18, 19 ; 
Virgil's steterunt comae, hair .stood on end, JEneid, II, 774; Tempest,!, 
ii, 213. What basis of truth, if any, for such a belief? — 136. seated= 
fixed, firmly placed [Steevens] ? — "They plucked the seated hills." 
Par. Lost, VI, 644. — heart knock at my ribs. A trace here of 
Shakespeare's reading of .^schylus' Prometheus, 881, KpaSia (j)6^w <j)piua. 
Aa/cTt'^et, kradia phobo phreno laktizei, my heart knocks at my mid- 
riff with fear. — 137. fears = apprehensions? fear-striking objects 
[Coleridge] ? objects of fear [Clark and Wright] ? — Midsummer N . D., 
V, i, 21; Hamlet, III, iii, 25. — 139. fantastical = imaginary? See I, 
iii, 53. — Scan. May the line end with a dactyl ( — ^) ?— 140. single^ 
individual [Schmidt]? individual, in op'position to a common wealth [John- 
son]? "Man is compared to a kingdom or state which may be de- 
scribed as ' single ' when all faculties are at one, or act in unison undis- 
turbed by conflicting emotions ; .... or is ' single ' used in a deprecia- 
tory sense (for simple, weak), as in I, vi, 16" [Clark and Wright]? 
singfle state of man=my inadequate unsupported manhood [White] ? 
my feeble manhood of reason [Hudson] ? shakes so my single state. 
etc. = so shakes the natural and direct work of thought upon objects 
before me that the inward vision alone seems real [Moberly] ? — func- 
tion = the active exercise of the faculties [Clark and Wright] ? active 
performance? — Lat, fungi, to perform. — 141. surmise=imagination? 
guesswork, conjecture? suspicion? — Old Pr. surmise, accusation; sur, 
upon; Lat. super: Fr. mettre; Lat. mittere, to send, put; Fr. surmettrCy 
to put upon, accuse, make one suspected of. — 14i, 142. 
"Where every something, being blent together. 
Turns to a wild of nothing." Mer. of Venice, III, ii, 181, 182. 

The visible, tangible, and present are as nothing ; the invisible, intan- 
gible, and future, everything? — Bucknill, commenting on 130-142, re- 
marks, " This early indication of Macbeth' s tendency to hallucination 
is most important in the psychological development of his character." 
Mad Folk of Shakespeare, p. 13. See Hudson also (school edition, p. 61). — 
142. rapt. I, iii, 57. — 144. Stir, motion, action. A. S. styrtan, to move, 
stir; Gen. stoj^en, to disturb; allied to stoj^m. y' star, to spread, scatter. 
Skeat. — Will he wait passively? — Darmesteter quotes from Thomas 



I 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 69 

Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould 145 
But with the aid of use. 

Macbeth. [Aside.'] Come what come may, 

Time and the hour runs through the roughest day. 

Banquo. Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your leisure. 

Macbeth. Give me your favor: my dull brain was 
wrought 
With things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains 150 
Are register'd where every day I turn 
The leaf to read them. Let us toward the kinsc- — 
Think upon what hath chanc'd, and at more time. 
The interim having weigh'd it, let us speak 
Our free hearts each to other. 

Hughes' Misfortunes of Arthur, played by the students of Gray's Inn in 
1587, Bacon among them, "whom chance hath often missed, chance hits 
at length ; or if that chance hath furthered his success, so may she 
mine, — for chance hath made me king.'''' Payne Collier, II, 431. — 145. hon- 
ors come = honors do come? or, honors having come? — strange := 
unknown or unused before [Schmidt]? new [Rolfe] ? foreign? — 147, 
time and. the hour, etc. [Lat. tempuset hora; Ital, il tempo e V ore)=z 
Time and occasion will carry the thing through, and bring it to some de- 
termined point or end, let its nature be what it will [Mrs. Montague] ? 
equivalent to time and tide, etc. [White] ? to every difficulty there 
comes its appropriate hour of solution [Elwin] ? the day most"^thickly 
bestead with trouble is long enough and has occasions enough for the 
service and the safety of a ready, quick-witted man [White] ? — "Every 
one knows the Spanish proverb, ' Time and I against any two.' " Hud- 
son. — runs. Time and the hour together are but onef or is this an 
instance of the old plu. in sf Abhott, 333, 833, 334, 336.— The expression 
is supposed to be proverbial. — So " Hanging and wiving goes by des- 
tiny." Mer. of Venice, II, ix, 82. — 148. stay upon= stay because of? 
are awaiting ?— 149. favor=pardon, indulgence [Steevens] ? — wrought 
=acted upon or operated upon [Schmidt]? worked? agitated? — The 
expression " worked up," equivalent to " painfully exercised," is used 
in some parts of New England. — To account for his apparent absence 
of mind, does he pretend that he has been trying to recall something 
forgotten ? — May forgotten refer to things forgotten by the people, i. e., 
Macbeth's right to the throne?— 151. register'd, etc. In the "tablets 
of his memory," imvyuxoo-lv SeArot? (fipevHiv, mnemosin deltois, phrenon, 
^schylus' Prometheus, 789; Hamlet, 1, v, 98. —Note the beauty of 
thought and language. — 1 53. more time = more leisure [Clark 'and 
Wright] ? — For more = greater, see, V, iv, 12. — 154. the interim = 
in the interim. Ahhott, 202. Interim is personified [Clark and Wright] ? 
— Which is more Shakespearian? — "Lat. inter, between; rm, old accu- 
sative of is, he, that, it. Used at least 14 times in Shakes." Skcat.— 
free = freely [Hudson, etc.] ? now guileless? — Proleptic use of free? — 
As to the witches in this scene. White remarks, "It is possible that 
these persons were the disguised agents of a faction inimical to Dun- 
can, who, taking advantage of the belief then existing in witchcraft, 
adopted this course to egg on the successful generals to an expedition 
against the throne." Studies in Shakespeare, p. 64. White also thinks, 
rind, p. 63, that Macbeth had " sworn to his wife that he would murder 



70 MACBETH. [act i. 

Bayxquo. Very gladly. 155 

Macbeth. Till then, enough. — Come, friends. \Exeunt 

Scene IV. Forres. The Palace. 

Flourish. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, Len- 
nox and Attendants. 

Duncan. Is execution done on Cawdor? Or not 
Those in commission yet return'd? 

Malcolm. My liege, 

They are yet not come back. But I have spoke 
With one that saw him die, who did report 
That very, frankly he confess'd his treasons, 5 

Implor'd your highness' pardon, and set forth 
A deep repentance: nothing in his life 
Became him like the leaving it; he died 
As one that had been studied in his death 
To throw away the dearest thing he ow'd 10 

As 't were a careless trifle. 

the king and usurp the throne at the first opportunity." Probable^ 
I, vii, 58, 59. 

Scene IV. — Or. So first folio. The others have Are^ which has 
been generally adopted. Of course, are is understood in folio 1. Are^ 
without or, makes a question slightly incongruous with the preceding? 
— May we interpret thus : Has Cawdor been executed, or is it too early 
to ask the question? — 2. liege. Old Fr. lige, fr. Old High Ger. ledec, 
ledic, Udlc, Udig; free, unfettered. Ger. Udig. A liege lord seems to 
have been a lord of a free band ; and his lieges, though serving under 
him, were privileged men, free from all other obligations, their name 
being due to their freedom, not to their service. Skeat. Stormonth, 
following Ducange, derives it from Low Lat. Utus, a man between a serf 
and a freemen, and bound to the soil. It is commonly connected with 
Lat. figatus, bound, ligdre, to bind; but Skeat remarks, "The fact is, the 
older phrase was 'a liege lord,' and the older sense free lord,' — 3. 
are .... come. "With some intransitive verbs, mostly of motion, both 
he and have are still used." Ahbott, 295. So with gone, scaped, arrived, 
stolen, etc. Is expresses present state; lias the activity necessary to 
cause this state? Verify. — spoke. A frequent form of the partici- 
ple, in use as late as the last century. ClarK and Wright. It arose from 
the tendency in Elizabethan times to drop the inflection -en. Aljbotty 
343. — leaving. The grammarians are puzzled to decide whether 
" leaving " is a participle or a noun. If a noun, why is it not followed 
by of; and if a participle, why is it preceded by "the"? Confusion of 
verbal noun with present participle? Abhott, 93. — 9. been studied= 
made it a study [Schmidt] ? well instructed [Hudson] ? — 10. ow'd. I, 
iii, 76. — 11, as t -were = in the way in which he would throw away 
[Abbott, 107; " As appears to be, though it is not, used for as if. The 
if is implied in the subjunctive "] ? II, ii, 27. — careless. Adjectives, 
especially those ending in ful, less, hie, and ive, have both an active and 
a passive meaning. Abhott, 3. Which sense here? II, i, 36. — There's 



SCENE IV.] MACBETU. 71 

Duncan. There 's no art 

To find the mind's construction in the face: 
He was a gentleman on whom I built 
An absolute trust. — 

Enter Macbeth, Banquo, Ross, and Angus. 

O worthiest cousin! 
The sin of my ingratitude even now 15 

Was heavy on me; thou art so far before 
That swiftest wing of recompense is slow 
To overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserv'd, 
That the proportion both of thanks and payment 
Might have been mine! only I have left to say, 20 

More is thy due than more than all can pay. 

Macbeth. The service and the loyalty I owe, 
In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' part 
Is to receive our duties: and our duties 
Are to your throne and state children and servants; 35 

Which do but what they should, by doing everything 
Safe toward your love and honor. 

■no art, etc. — Euripides' Medea, 516-520, has been cited as a parallel 
passage, ouSeis x'^pa-'^^np etJLTrecpvKe o-co/aari, ondcis character empephuke 
somati, no distinguishing mdrk has been set by nature upon the 
body (i. e., by which one may distinguish between the bad and the 
good man). — Had Shakes, read ^schylus? -^Note the high dramatic 
skill in that the simple-minded Duncan, at the very moment when he 
is telling of his absolute trust, built upon Cawdor's innocent looks, is 
fatally deceived by the smiling face and the lying words of a far worse 
traitor ! — 14. trust. "The pause on the word trust, shortening the 
line by two syllables, is very suggestive." Moberly. How? — 17. slow 
= too slow [Clark and Wright] i — 19. proportion = comparative re- 
lation (that it had been in my power to reward thee in proportion) 
[Schmidt]? due proportion [Clark and Wright, Hudson, etc.] ? appor- 
tionment? balance? — 20. mine =-- in my power? mine to give [Rolfe] ? 
in my favor? — Only, etc. = I can say nothing else than that more is 
due you than all I have, and more too, can repay ? See note on I, iii, 92, 
93. — 23. pays itself = is its own reward [Rolfe] ? As for the s in 
pays, see Ahhott, 332, 333, 336 ; also I, iii, 147. — 24. duties=faculties 
and labors of duty [Hudson] ? — " Such high-pressure rhetoric is the 
right vernacular of hollowness." Hudson. Do you concur?— 27. safe 
to "ward = with sure tendency, with certain direction [Seymour] ? with 
a sure regard to [Clark and Wright] ? respectful, loyal [Singer] ? which 
they can do safely as regards [Knight] ? which secures to you [Elwin] ? 
Safe toward yottr— sure to show you [Schmidt] ? — This seems to have 
been taken from the customai-y saying in Lat., salvo honore del, the 
honor of God being safe; or, in the old French phrase, sauf i^otrc hon- 
neur; or, in Norman Fr., saiilf la foji que jes doij aostrc seignor le nnj, a 
phrase of reservation in acknowledgments of allegiance or avowals of 



72 MACBETH. [act i. 

Duncan. Welcome hither : 

I have begun to plant thee, and will labor 
To make thee full of growing. — Noble Banquo, 
That hast no less deserv'd, nor must be known 30 

No less to have done so, let me infold thee 
And hold thee to my heart. 

Banquo. There if I grow, 

The harvest is your own. 

Duncan. My plenteous joys, 

Wanton in fullness, seek to hide themselves 
In drops of sorrow. — Sons, kinsmen, thanes, 35 

And you whose places are the nearest, know 
We will establish our estate upon 
Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter 
The Prince of Cumberland; which ho^ior must 
Not unaccompanied invest him only, 40 

But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine 
On all deservers. — From hence to Inverness, 
And bind us further to you. 

Macbeth. The rest is labor, which is not us'd for you. 

fealty. Sprague's Masterpieces m Sng. if t., p. 118. Hudson interprets 
thus : " 'with a firm and sure purpose to have you loved and honored ;' 
or, 'so as to merit and secure love and honor from you;' perhaps both 
meanings." — 28. have begun, etc. Still keeping up Macbeth' s hope 
of the crown? — 30. nor. For and? Double negative for emphasis? 
Abbott, 406. — 31. thee = thee, too? emphatic? — 32. groAV — cling 
close and increase [Clark and Wright] ? Is this a continuation of the 
metaphor of four or five lines before? — 33-35. Bom. and Jul., Ill, ii, 
102-104. In Winter'' s Tale, V, ii, 43, we read, ' ' Their joy waded in tears. ' ' 
Malone quotes Lucan, "iVon aliter manifesta potens abscondere mentis 
Gaudiaquam, lacrymis,'''' unable to hide the manifest joys of the mind but 
-"by tears. Pharsalia, IX, 1038. " There was no English translation of 
Lucan before 1614," and Macbeth must have been written earlier than 
that? — 34. wanton. A. S. wan, wanting, without; fr. wanian, to 
decrease, wane, akin to want; tonfr.towen, A. S. togen, educated; fr. 
teon, to draw, educate, train, bring up, akin to tug; hence wanton -pro^)- 
perly = untrained, ill-bred, unmannerly, rude. — Walker says line 
35 " is suspicious ; " for sorrow could hardly " ever have been a trisylla- 
ble." May a natural pause after the word, and before the following 
announcement, account for the break in the metre? I, ii, 7. — 35. The first 
folio has Mnsmen; the others, kinsman. Preference? — V, viii, 62. — 
37. will establish, etc. The throne was not hereditary [Rolfe] ? See 
extract from Holinshed, p. 21.— 39. Cumberland. Since thej^ear 946 
it had belonged to Scotland. It included also Westmoreland and North- 
ern Strathclyde. To be Prince of Cumberland then was like being 
Prince of Wales now ; so Macbeth' s hopes are dashed ! — From hence. 
Spoken to whom? — All the folios have Envernes, which Hunter thinks 
more euphonious than Inverness. Rightly? — 44. The rest, etc. The 
exact converse of '*' Most busy, least, when I do it," in Tempest, III, i. 



SCENE IV.] MACBETH. 7 3 

I '11 be myself the harbinger and make joyful 45 

The hearing of my wife with your approach; 
So humbly take my leave- 

Dimcan. My worthy Cawdor! 

Macbeth. \A8ide^ The Prince of Cumberland! that is 
a step 
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, 
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires! 50 

-Let not light see my black and deep desires: 
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be 
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. \Ex%t. 

. Duncan. True, worthy Banquo : he is full so valiant, 
And in his commendations I am fed; 55 

It is a banquet to me. Let's after him. 
Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome: 
It is a peerless kinsman. [^Flourish. Exeunt. 

Scene V. Inverness. A Room in Macbeth'' s Castle. 
Miter Lady Macbeth, reading a letter. 

Lady Macbeth [Reads]. They met me in the day of suc- 
cess : and I have learned by the perfectest report.^ they have 

15: rest, not being used for the king, is like toil; toil, undergone by 
Ferdinand for Miranda, is like rest ! See in ShaJfespeariana, April, 1884, 
a note by the present editor on this quotation from The Tempest. — 45. 
harbinger — forerunner? — Icel. here, an army; hjarga, to save, help, 
defend; herhergi, a "host-shelter," harbor, inn, lodging; A. S. /(ere, 
army; heorgan^to preserve; Mid. Eng. Tiere-bergeoitr (-ottr denoting the 
agent), one who provided lodgings for a host or army; Old Fr. herher- 
ger. The n in hcurhinger stands for r. A harbor was originally an inn. 
Skeat, Brachet. — V, vi, 10. — 50. stars. Is it night? or is he thinking 
of night as the fit time for murder? — 51. Let not, etc. To whom is 
this addressed? — 52. The eye. Let? — "wink at=encourage [Hudson]? 
not seem to see [Meiklejohn] ? See note on winli in our ed. of 
Milton's Comus, line 401. — yet let that be=yet let the eye per- 
mit that to take place [Delius] ? To let that come to pass? — 54. True. 
What? — Does Duncan's reply to something Banquo has privately said 
in praise of Macbeth show "how constantly Shakes, kept the stage 
and the audience in mind" [White] ? — full so valiant = quite as brave 
as you say [Moberly] ? — 55. fed. Winter's Tale, I, ii, 91. — 56. ban- 
quet. Pla-y on the name Banquo? — 58. There is a touch of affection- 
ate familiarity in the phrase "it is " [Clark and Wright] ? — " I al- 
ways think there is something especially Shakespearian in Duncan's 
speeches throughout this scene — such pourings forth, such abandon- 
ments — compared with the language of vulgar dramatists, whose char- 
acters seem to have made their speeches as the actors learn them." 
Coleridge. Verify this.— Value of this scene? 

Scene V. — 3. perfectest report = most accurate intelligence 



74 MACBETH, [act i. 

more in them than mortal knowledge. When I burned in 

desire to question them J'urther, they made themselves air^ 

into 'which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder 

of it., came missives from the king, loho all-hailed me ' Thane 

of Cawdor j"^ by which title, before, these weird sisters saluted 

me, and referred me to the coming on of time, icith ' Hail, 

king that shalt beP This have I thought good to deliver 

thee, my dearest partner of grecctness, that thou mightest 

not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of lohat 

greatness is promised thee. Lay it to thy heart, and far e- 

vieli. 

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be 13 

What thou art promis'd. Yet do I fear they nature; 

It is too full o' the milk of human kindness ' 15 

To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great; 

Art not without ambition, but without 

The illness should attend it: what thou wouldst highly, 

That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false. 

And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou'dst have great Glamis, 

That which cries, * Thus thou must do, if thou have it;' 31 

And that which rather thou dost fear to do 

[Johnson]? i. e. my own experience [Clark and Wright] ? — 5. "Whiles. 
While is properly a noun — A. S. hwil, a time; probably allied to Lat. 
quies, rest. ^Vhiles is the genitive case used adverbially, as in twi-es, 
twice ; need-es, of necessity, needs ; Skeat. Ahhott, 137. Shakes, often 
uses while and whilst. — missives = messengers ? So in Antony and 
Cleop., II, ii, 74. — Lat. mittere, to send; missus sent. — 6. all -hailed. 
The 1st folio has the hyphen; the others omit. it. Better? — Florio in 
his (Italian) World of Wordes, 1598, defines '■'■salutare, to salute, to greet, 
toalhaile." See line 53.-9. deliver = report to? So Tempest, V, i, 
313.— 10. dues. French du, due; devoir, Lat. debere, to have away 
(on loan) , to owe ; from c?e, away, habere^ to have.— Had Lady Macbeth 
read this letter before? Do we have the whole of it? Had another 
preceded? — 14. I fear = I am in fear for [Delius] ? Meas. for Meas,, 
III, i, 73. — 15. milk. IV, iii, 98; Bom. and Jul., Ill, iii, 55; Lear, 1, 
iv, 333. See line 46. — Has Lady Macbeth a right estimate of her hus- 
band's nature? Bodenstedt says no; Ulrici, yes. — See White's Ladu 
Gruacli's Husband in his Studies in Shahespeare.— 16. wouldst = 
wishest to [Abbott, 329] ? — 18. illness = evil? evil nature [White] ? 
Not used elsewhere by Shakes, in this sense [Clark and Wright] ? — 
Not wickedness only, but remofselessness, or hardness of heart. Hudson. 
— 19. wouldst. Abbott, 329.' Wishest to? See I, vii, 34.— 20-23. 
This passage is difficult, and has given rise to a great deal of comment 
and many proposed emendations, no one of which is entirely satisfac- 
tory. Retaining the old reading, may we interpret thus : Thou 'dst 
have, great Glamis, that (i. e. the crown) which (crown) cries, "Thus 
thou must do, if thou have it (i. e. me, the crown)," and (thou wouldst 
have) that (i.e. the murder) which rather thou dost fear to do, than wish- 



SCENE T.l MACBETH. ' 75 

Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither, 

That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, 

And chastise with the valour of my tongue 25 

All that impedes thee from the golden round 

Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem 

To have thee crown' d withal. 

Eater a Messenger. 

What is your tidings? 

Messenger. The king comes here to-night. 

Lady Macbeth. Thou 'rt mad to say it: 

Is not thy master with him? who, were 't so, 30 

Would have inform'd for preparation. 

Messenger. So please you, it is true: our thane is coming. 
One of my fellows had the speed of him, 

est should be undone (i. e. unperformed) ? Darmesteter would inter- 
pret, "Thou wouidst like to see accomplished that thing (i. e. the 
death of Duncan) , which (death) cries, ' Do it thj^self , if thou wouidst 
have it,' and what thou fearest to do thyself rather than desirest to 
have unaccomplished. ' ' Delius thinks it is ' 'the cold-blooded instinct to 
murder,", that cries. Judge !— 23. Hie thee = hie thou (i/iee seems to 
be used for tl\ou) [Rolfe]? The Elizabethans reduced t?ioit to thee. 
Abhott, 212. A. S. higian to hasten. Akin to Kt'etv ; kiein, to go ; Lat. , 
ciere^ to cause to go; citus, quick. Skeat. Intransitive always? — 25. 
chastise. Accented here and in Richard II, II, iii, 103, on 1st syl. ? — 26. 
golden round. IV, i, 88. — "Full well did I cause to be graven In 
thy golden round," etc. Abraham Faunce to a Wedding Ring, in 1591. 
— 27. metaphysical = supernatural? So defined in Minsheu's Spa?i- 
ish Diet., 1599, and Florio's Wo7^ld of Wordes, 1598. — Gr. /aera, mSta, 
after ; <f)V(nKd, phusica, physics ; ixera to. 4>vaLKa, after those things which 
relate to external nature. — doth seem to have = (nearly) would 
have [RolfeJ ? doth seem to be likely to have [Moberly] ? doth seem to 
desire to have [Boswell] ? — Bailey prefers to read, in place of seem, 
either deem, or aim, or mean, or design, or ween! — Seem is not here 
equivalent to appeal^, but rather to reveal [Delius] ? — Seem appears to 
be almost periphrastical [Schmidt, Rolfe, etc.]? — Seel, ii. 47.-^28. 
withal. Note on I, iii, 57. — tidings is both singular and plural in 
Shakes. — Icel. thindi, news; Mid. Eng. tiding. The s is an Eng. ad- 
dition to mark the plural. A. S. tid, time; ge-tidan, to happen; fr. 
Teut. base ti, to divide. —29. mad, etc. Is she momentarily thrown 
off her guard^'"^ the strange and sudden announcement ? — " In the 
fierce delight of her soul, she almost interrupted the messenger with 
the exclamation. " White. — 30. Is not, etc. Is she seeking to divert 
attention from her startled utterance and manner ? — 33. speed (A. S., 
sped, haste, success; fr. spowan, to succeed) = start. ? superiority in 
swiftness? — had the speed of = outstripped [Rolfe, etc.]? "The 
phrase is remarkable. " Clark and Wright. — May "had the speed of 
him ' ' mean, had, as an av ant-courier from Macbeth, the parting word 
"speed," or "God speed you?" Does not the word "message" in 
line 35 show that Macbeth had sent him forward? See "speed" in 
Browning' s How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix. This ex- 



16 MACBETH. [act i. 

Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more 
Than would make up his message. 

Lady Macbeth. Give him tending; 35 

He brings great news. \Exit Messenger. 

The raven himself is hoarse 
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan 
Under my battlements. — Come, you spirits 
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, 
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full 40 

Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; 
Stop up the access and passage to remorse, 
That no compunctious visitings of nature 
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between 
The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts, 45 

planation of "had the speed of him " was first published by the pres- 
ent editor in the column Shakesperiana, in the May, 1888, number of The 
Student, a magazine published by the undergraduates of the North 
Dakota University. — 34. dead for breath. Significance ominous? 

— 35. tending. Shakes, uses tendance also. —36. he brings. WhoT 

— To whom is this spoken? — 36. raven. 'The raven messenger has 
lost his voice, and is hoarse in giving his message [Delius, Moberly, 

_etc.] ? — Are hoarseness and lack of breath identical? concomitants 
'Does one suggest the other. —Even the bird, whose harsh voice is 
accustomed to predict calamities, could not croak the entrance of 
Duncan but in a note of unwonted harshness [Johnson, Hunter, Rolfe, 
etc.] ? Hudson finds prolepsis; " The raven has made himself hoarse 
with croaking." Correctly? — 37. entrance. Trisyl. here? Ahbott, 
477; "This additional syllable is very frequently required for the 
metre in words where a liquid follows a mute." See " monstrous " in 
III, vi, 8. May we imagine her pausing and listening to the raven, 
and so filling out the time of the line? Must she speak in perfect pen- 
tameters? See note on I, ii, 5.-38. battlements. Note how the 
black purpose darkens the utterance. If she thinks of a bird it is one 
of evil omen, a raven; if of a sound, it is ill-boding, a hoarseness, a 
croaking ; if of a ceremony, it is of fatal import ; if of any part of the 
castle, it is something threatening, as battlements ! Sliakesipeare as an 
Author^ lecture by the present editor. "If all this be accident," saj^s 
Lowell, it is at least one of those accidents of which only Shakespeare 
was ever capable." But is it peculiar to Shakespeare? — To make the 
metre perfect, Pope would insert "all" after "come." Stevens 
would read, "Come, come!" Knight finds great sublimity in the 
pause after " battlements." You? — 39. mortal = human, pertaining 
to mortals? deadly? Ill, iv, 81; IV, iii, 3; Par. Lost, I, 2. —40. top- 
full. So in King John, III, iv, ISO. — 42. access. Accent on 2dsyl. ? 
Usually so in Shakes. Ahhott, 490. — remorse = relenting [Clark and 
Wright] ? pity? — In Shakes, the word is applied to crime conceived and 
to crime perpetrated. With him we still use remorseless in the sense 
of pitiless? Lat. re = again; mordere, to bite. Spoken of the gnaw- 
ings of a guilty conscience ? Mer. of Venice, IV, i, 20 ; Tempest, V, i, 76. 

— 44, 45. Keep peace between the effect and it — may stop the 
meditated blow [Clark and Wright] ? allow no truce between the pur- 



SCENE v.] MACBETH, 77" 

And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, 

Wherever in your sightless substances 

You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night, 

And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell. 

That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, 50 

Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, 

To cry 'Hold, hold!' 

pose and its execution [Moberly] ] — In the mental picture a peace- 
maker stepping, like a constable, between two would-be-combatants 
and keeping them apart? — Hudson substitutes "break" for "keep." 
Johnson inclines to read "keep pace." Bailey, "keep space." Is 
there need-of a change? — 46. take my milk for gall = use my milk 
as if it were gall [Clark and Wright] ? take away my milk and put gall 
into the place [Johnson, Hudson, etc.] ? turn my milk to gall [Rolfe] ? 
infect my milk with gall [Knightley] ? give me gall instead of milk 
[White] ? nourish yourselves with my milk, which through my being 
unsexed, has turned to gall [Delius] i Select ! — See line 15 . — 47. 
sightless substances = invisible forms; as caieless in I, iv, 11, means 
not cared for [Clark and Wright] ? a qualitj^ which will not bear looking 
at, which is repulsive to behold [Delius] ? — Preference? — See II, i, 36; 
note on I, iv, 11. — 48. mischief, etc. Are ready to abet any evil done 
throughout the world [Clark and Wright] ? tend on offences against 
nature [Darmesteter,] ? — thick night. See "thick darkness," Ex- 
odus, X, 22 ; Macbeth, III, ii, 50. — 49. pall = wrap ? — Lat. palla, a man- 
tle ; pallium, a coverlet ; A. S. paell, purple cloth. ^-I, iv, 50. — dunnest. 
— A. S. dun, dark. The word was criticised in the Rambler as undig- 
nified. Is it so now? — 50. see not = reflect not in the brightness of 
the blade [Elwin] ? — The vividness of this personification is wonderful. 
Shall we turn it into prose? — 51. peep = gaze earnestly and steadily 
[Keightley] ? — Old Fr. piper, to peep out, to pry. How piper came to 
be used in that sense will appear at once, if we refer the verb, not to the 
hird, but to the fowler who lies in wait for Mm; '''■piper, to whistle or chirp 
like a bird; also to cosen, deceive;" pipee, the peeping or chirping of 
small birds, counterfeited hy a hird catcher, who pipes and slily ohserves at 
the same time. Skcat. — blanket = the covering of the sleeping world 
. [Clark and Wright] ? Collier would substitute "blankness ;" Coleridge 
" blank height " (but he afterwards withdrew the suggestion) ; Bailey 
"blackness;" Jessopp, "blankest." — Malone thinks blanket was sug- 
gested by the coarse woolen curtain of Shakespeare's own thea- 
tre, through which probably the great dramatist had himself often 
peeped. Whiter (1794) says, " All the im.ages of this passage are bor- 
rowed from the stage. The appropriate dress of tragedy is a pall and 
knife; the stage (in tragedy) was hung with black; probably the 
heavens or roof of the stage, underwent likewise some gloomy trans- 
formation. In the Rape of Lucrece, 764-788, we have not only ' Black 
. stage for tragedies and murders fell,' but also 'Comfort-Killing Night, 
image of Hell .... again 'Though Night's black bosom shouldmot 
peep again.' " — Rolfe cites Milton's, " Sometimes let gorgeous tragedy. 
In sceptered pall come sweeping by ;" II Penseroso, 97, 98. — " The met- 
aphor of darkness as a blanket wrapped round the world so as to keep 
the Divine Eye from seeing the deed, is just such a one as it was fitting 
for the boldest of poets to put into the mouth of the boldest of women." 
Hudson. — As if darkness might be lit up by lightning flashes, and 
Heaven at any instant might thunder " Hold !" — 52. Hold. Any al- 



78 MAC BET H. ' ' [act i. 

Enter Macbeth. 

Great Glamis! worthy Cawdor! 
Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter! 
Thy letters have transported me beyond 
This ignorant present, and I feel now 55 

The future in the instant. 

Macbeth. My dearest love, 

Duncan comes here to-night. 

Lady Macbeth. And when goes hence? 

Macbeth. To-morrow — as he purposes. 

Lady Macbeth. O, never 

Shall sun that morrow seel 

Your face, my thane, is as a book where men 60 

May read strange matters. To beguile the time, 
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, 

lusion to the fact that capital punishment was inflicted upon him who 
struck his adversary after the proper authority had commanded 
" Hold"?— See V, viii, 34.-52, 53. The critics note the lack of terms 
of endearment here? Pair inference from the omission? — all-haiJ 
hereafter = the " all-hail " that will afterwards salute you as king 
[Meiklejohn] ? glorious hereafter? — 54. letters. More than one? 
May "letters," like the Lat. plural literae, denote a single epistle. — 
How many days have elapsed since the battles? — 55. ignorant = 
unknowing [Johnson] i unknown, obscure, inglorious [Delius] ? which 
is more poetic? — See " ignorant concealment, " Winter''s Tale^ I, ii, 385. 
— present. Tempest I, i, 25. — This line is said to lack a syllable, and 
most editors go to work to supply it. Pope inserted "time" after 
"present;" Lettsom and Hunter, "e'en," before "now." Abbott, 484, 
and Rolf e make " feel " a dissyllable, accenting "and" and /c-, 1st 
syl. of " fe-el." Must we piece out the metre, and tame this fiery im- 
petuosity? Seel, ii, 7, 34. — Is there in the passage a recollection of 
the phraseology of the Absolution in the Booh of Common Prayer, "that 
those things may please him which we do at this present, and that the 
rest of our life hereafter may be pure," etc.? — 56. instant = present 
moment? — Lat. i?i, upon ; stare, to stand ; Pr. instant, pressing. Rom. and 
Jul., I, i, 100. — " Expectation quickens the dull present with the spirit of 
the future." Hudson. — 58. as he purposes. Does he add this as a hint 
that the purpose may be defeated? Was he used to lying? See a sim- 
ilar expression in II, iii, 34, "He does — he did appoint so." — 59. A 
broken line. " She pauses to watch the effect of her words." Ahhott, 
511. Likely? — 60. Your face, etc. Does she mean that she has dis- 
cerned in his looks his murderous intent? or that she fears that others 
may discover by his looks that all is wrong? "His face does not wear 
a look of welcome" [Meiklejohn]? Settle this question. — 61. 
strange = new, and therefore alarming [Meiklejohn] ? — beguile 
the time = wile away the time? "delude all observers" [Clark and 
Wright] i — Twelfth Night, 111, iii, 41. See post, I, vii, 81. — " Time is 
here put for its contents or what occurs in time. It is a time of full- 
hearted welcome and hospitality ; and such are the looks which Mac- 
beth is urged to counterfeit" [Hudson]? — See White's Studies in 



SCENE V ] MACBETH. 79 

Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, 

But be the serpent under 't. He that 's coming 

Must be provided for: and you shall put 65 

This night's great business into my dispatch; 

Which shall to all our nights and days to come 

Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. 

Macheth. We will speak further. 

Lady Macbeth. . Only look up clear; 

To alter favor ever is to fear: '''O 

Leave all the rest to me. \Exeunt. 

Scene YI. Before MacbetKs Castle. 

Hautboys and torches. Enter Duxcax, YIalcolm, Donal- 
BAix, Banquo, Lexxox, Macduff, Ross, Axgus, and 
Attendants. 

Duncan. This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air 
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself 
Unto our gentle senses. 

Shakespeare, p. 66. — 64. serpent. Similarly in Richard II, III, ii, 19, 
20; 2 Henry VI, III, i, 228. — 66. my dispatch. Does she mean to kill 
the king with her own hands ? II, ii, 12, 13. — 70. To alter favor ever 
is to fear = change of countenance is ever a symptom of fear [Clark 
and Wright] ? to bear an altered face marks fear in you and creates it 
in others [Moberly] ? to wear an altered face is at the same time to be 
irresolute, and to render others apprehensive of a hidden intention [Elwin] i 
to fear = to give cause for fear [Seymour] ? " To alter your expression 
of confident innocence actually begets fear." Rev. W. W. Davis. — 
favor = look, countenanced Lat. favor, Fr. faveur, kindliness, grace. 
It is creditable to human nature that this word came to mean the 
human countenance and is often so used in Shakespeare. It is now 
unfortunately obsolete in this sense, or nearly so ; though we some- 
times say "well-favored" or "ill-favored." Genesis, xli, 2, 3, 4. — 
" Lady Macbeth detects more than irresolution in her husband's last 
speech " [Clark and Wright] i — WTiat progress is made in this scene 
in the development of the plot i What light does it throw upon the 
characters of any of the personages? upon Shakespeare's imagination? 
Verisimilitude in the scene ? Could it have been omitted without seri- 
ous injury to the play? 

Scene YI.— Hautboys. Fr. Jiant, high, fr. Lat. aUus (Z being soft- 
.ened into v before a consonant) ; Fr. bois, wood, fr. Low Lat. boscum, 
Ijuscum, wood; Old High Ger. busc. The lit. sense is "high wood," the 
hautboy being a wooden instrument of a high tone. Doublet, oboe. — 
Brachet, Skeat. — The scene that follows has been greatly admired for 
its quiet and repose, contrasting so sharply with the preceding and the 
following, All the images are of peace and cheer; no raven now, no 
hoarseness, no croaking, no fatal ceremony, no menacing battlements! 
Lecture oh Shakespeare as an Author, by the present editor. — 3. gentle. 
''The air attempers our senses to its own state, and so makes them 



80 MACBETH. [act i. 

JBanqiio. This guest of summer, 

The temple-haunting martlet, does approve 
By his lov'd mansionry that the heaven's breath 5 

Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze, 
Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird 
Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle: 
Where they must breed and haunt, I have observed 
The air is delicate. 

Enter Lady Macbeth. 

Duncan. See, see, our honor'd hostess! 10 

The love that follows us sometime is our trouble. 



gentle." Hudson. Is the word used proleptically (anticipatively ) as 
Hudson and Rolf e think? — senses " are nothing more than each man's 
sense" [Johnson] ? As to the two syllables of senses, and the extra sylla- 
ble so introduced into the middle of the line, the critics quote Abbott, 
471, "The plural and possessive cases of nouns in which the singular 
ends in s, se, ss, ce and ge, are frequently written and still more fre- 
quently pronounced without the additional syllable." But why thus 
restrict the poet? Dactyls, troches and anapests may be freely used? — 
4. martlet. This word was substituted by Rowe (1709) for the evi- 
dent misprint BartZet. — A martlet (meaning "'little martin," martin 
being a nickname, like Robin, for a bird) was a kind of sparrow^ 
"Martin" from Lat. Ifars, god of war. — approve = prove? So in 
Mer. of Fen., Ill, ii, 79. — Lat. probus, good; probare, to pronounce good, 
to test. Ad strengthens the simple word? — 5. maiisioiiry = abode? 
mansion-building? Shakes, does not use it elsewhere. Pope changed 
it to masonry. Well? — Staunton would read " love-mansionry." The 
original word is mansonry; would an i be more liable to be omitted, or 
an n to be inserted? — 6. jutty, a projection over? same word as jetty 
[Steevens, Rolfe, etc.] ? Used twice by Shakes. — From Old Fr. jetter, 
Lat. jactare, to throw. Jutty is a verb in Henry F, III, i, 13. — frieze= 
line of wall below the parapet [Moberly] ? Brachet derives it fr. Span. 
friso. Skeat thinks it may be akin to friz, to carl. Cotgrave defines 
it "the broad, flat band below the cornish." — 7. coign of vantage 
= projecting angle in the masonry [White] ? convenient corner [John- 
son, Clark and Wright, etc,] ? projecting bartizan or " swallow's nest" 
[Moberly] . Old Fr. coigne, nook, corner. Lat. creneus, a wedge. — 
For vantage, see I, ii, 31. — 9. We follow the folios here, must is 
changed to most by the editors, who put a colon after "cradle" in place 
of the comma, and substitute a comma for the colon after "haunt." 
The old folios make a very neat meaning ; viz. , the wooing air, the lo- 
cation, and the advantageous corners, make it unavoidable that they 
should breed and haunt here. To the king's remark about the air, he 
replies that he had noticed its delicacy. — Shall it be must or most! 
Which is prose fact, and which poetic imagination? — The Collier MS. 
has much. — On pendent and procreant, Moberly remarks, " The effect 
of an unusual Latin or Greek word in poetry is often very great." 
Verify. — 10. Our honored hostess. Is it said to her, or of her? — 11. 
love, etc.= loving attentions sometimes give us trouble, yet we thank 



SCENE VI.] MACBETH. \ gl 

Which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you 
How you shall bid God 'ield us for your pains 
And thank us for your trouble 

Lady Macbeth. All our service 

In every point twice done, and then done double 15 

Were poor and single business, to contend 
Against those honors deej? and broad wherewith 
Your majesty loads our house: for those of old, 
And the late dignities heap'd up to them, 
We rest your hermits. 

Duncan. Where's the thane of Cawdor? 30 

We cours'd him at the heels, and had a purpose 
To be his purveyor; but he rides well, 
And his great love, sharp as his spur, hath holp him 
To his home before us. Fair and noble hostess. 
We are your guest to-night. 



the love that prompts them [the present editor in Mastevpiete^l % kind 
hearts, even if troubled by attention, give thanks for it [Moberly] ? — 
Sometime is used by Shakes, interchangeably with sometimes. — Abbott, 
68a. Ephesians, ii, 13; Colossians, i, 21; iii, 7; Macbeth .^ IV, ii, 75. — 12. 
Herein = by this (illustration) ? — 13. bid = pray. A. S. biddan, to 
pray. To bid beads was orig. to pray prayers. Skeat. — 'ield for yield 
=pay, reward. A. S. gieldan, to pay. So in Hamlet, IV, v, 41 ; As You 
Like It, TIT, iii, 66, etc. — "The kind-hearted monarch means that his love 
is what puts him upon troubling them thus, and therefore they will be 
grateful for the pains he causes them." Hudson. — To her and Mac- 
beth the pains are a pleasure, the troubles are a joy. — 16. single. I, 
iii, 140. "There is a whimsical likeness and logical connection between 
this phrase and one that has lately come into vulgar vogue, ' a one- 
horse affair,' 'a one-horse town,' etc." White. — contend against = 
vie with, match [Hudson] ? — 17. honors deep. Effect of placing the 
adjective after the noun as in the French language? Abbott, 419. — 18. 
to = in addition to [Clark and Wright, etc.] ? Abbott, l^h. Macbeth, 
III, i, 51. — 20. rest = cease from labor? remain permanently? — her- 
mits = beadsmen [Steevens, White, Moberly, etc.]? — Fr. hermite; 
Low Lat. heremita; Gr. ep-qfj-n-qs, eremites, a dweller in a desert; 
ep^jiAo?, deserted. Skeat. The hermit is one who has retired from the 
world to spend the rest of his life in prayer. TLiady M. says in effect, 
" So we shall ever pray for you." — the thane, etc. A delicate sug- 
gestion of the honor he had bestowed? Note the compliments in this 
neat speech. — Where's the thane? Where was he? dressing? I, 
vii, 36. — 21. coursed. Metaphor from what? — Ijat. cursus, course; 
currere, to run. — 22. purveyor. Lat. providere, to foresee, act with 
foresight. Pro, before, became Fr. pour; Lat. videre, to see, became 
Old Fr. veier; whence vey in survey. Provide is a doublet. Skeat. — 
The har^biuger (I, iv, 45) provided lodgings; the purveyor, food?— -How 
accented here? Abbott, 492. — 23. holp. A. S. helpan, to help; past t. 
healp; past part, holpen; Mid. Eng, holpen, as in Luke, i, 54. There was 
a very strong tendency in the Elizabethan age to drop altogether the 



82 MACBETH. [act i. 

Lady Macbeth. Your servants ever 35 

Have theirs, themselves, and what is theirs, in compt, 
To make their audit at your highness' pleasure, 
Still to return your own. 

Duncan. Give me your hand; 

Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly, 
And shall continue our graces towards him. 30 

By your leave, hostess. \Exeunt. 

Scene YII. MachetKs Castle. 

Hautboys and torches. Enter a Sewer, and divers Servants 
with dishes and service, and pass over the stage. Then en- 
ter Macbeth. 

Macbeth. If it were done when 't is done, then 't were well 
It were done quickly: if the assassination 



inflection in -e7^. ^&7)oit, 343; Tempest, I, ii, 63. — 26. in compt=under 

account [Moberly] ? in account, accountable [Rolf e] ? subject to account 
[Steevens] ? — Lat. computare, to reckon ; F]'. compter, to count ; compte, 
doublet of Fr. comput, computation. — 27, make their audit = sub- 
mit their accounts or business for examination ? — 28. return your 
OAvn. Is this an echo of I Chronicles, xxix, 14, "Of thine own have we 
given thee? " — 30. In order to scan this line, Abbott, 492, makes towards 
a dissyllable accented on to- ; Clark and Wright would make our a dissyl. 
(as if ou-er], and towards a monosyllable. Judge ! — 31. He takes her 
by the hand? — In this scene Coleridge thinks he detects a " labored 
rhythm and hypocritical overmuch in Lady Macbeth' s welcome." Sir 
Joshua Reynolds is charmed in the short dialogue between Duncan 
and Banquo, with "what in painting is termed repose.''^ Sheridan 
Knowles finds no repose, but a straining and intensifying of the inter- 
est, because we know the king is going to his death. Franz Horn com- 
ments on the exquisite naturalness of the dialogue between Duncan 
and Banquo, and the wisdom with which the repose is introduced, " in 
order to deepen the tragic pathos that follows." Moberly sees in the 
peaceful imagery, and in the objects that meet Duncan's and Banquo' s 
gaze, the same poetic instinct that Homer shows (in Iliad, XXII, 126) 
when he introduces "into Hector's bitter farewell to life the soft im- 
age of the ' youth and maiden conversing near some oak-tree or by 
some shadowy rock.' " Test these views. 

Scene VII. — sewer. "An officer who set and removed dishes, 
tasted them, etc." A. S. seaw, juice; sauce; boiled meat. Skeat. The 
old derivation was from the OldFr. essayeur, an of&cer who tasted each 
dish to make sure there was no poison in the food. Darmesteter, Hud- 
son, Clark and Wright, etc. — 1. White puts a period at the end of the 
first line, omits the comma after quickly in the next line, reduces the 
capital I of the folio in if (2d line) to small i, and interprets thus : " If 
it were done [ended] when 'tis done [performed] , then it would be 
well. It were done [ended] quickly, if the assassination could clear 
itself from all consequences," etc. For this he argues ingeniously. 



SCENE Yii.] MACBETH. 83 

Could trammel up the consequence, and catch 

With his surcease success; that but this blow 

Might be the be-all and the end-all here, 5 

But here, upon this bank and school of time, 

We 'd jump the life to come. But in these cases 

But the old punctuation, which nearly all editors follow, though they 
change the capital I in if (line 2) , makes good sense. Macbeth is indeed 
"too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way." 
Nothing more natural than for him, without wholly abandoning the 
project, to postpone action. He finds special reasons for refraining, at 
least for the present. To himself he pictures the circumstances that 
make the killing more hazardous and more damnable than ordinary 
murder; to his wife he expresses his unwillingness to stab ungrate- 
fully the king, who has just honored him, and to " cast aside so soon " 
the golden popularity just earned. It will be more safe and less atro- 
cious to kill the king by and by. Shall it be now, or in the indefinite 
future? Well, the circumstances just now are specially unfavorable. 
I have no fear of the life to come, but my deed will teach others how 
to serve me in this life. To be sure, I would do it now, were it not for 
these adverse considerations ; but, on the whole, I incline to wait awhile. 
Besides it were mere tautology for Macbeth to say, as White would 
make him, " It were done [i. e., ended, cleared from all consequences] 
quickly, if the assassination could clear itself from all consequences," 
etc. — If it were done, etc. = if it were to be all over and ended as 
soon as the fatal blow is struck, then it would be well to strike it 
quickly? The second done means performed. Masterpieces in Eng. Lit., 
p. 123. — 3. trammel up = gather up and hold? entangle as in a net 
[Clark and Wright, etc.] ? tie up or net up [Schmidt] ? Fr. tramail, "a 
tramell or a net for partridges." Cotgrave. Low Lat. tramacula, a 
trammel, net, shackle, anything that confines or restrains. Skeat. — 
Spenser uses it as meaning a net for the hair; Markham, as a sort of 
shackle for a horse. — 4. his = its? the assassination's [Johnson]? 
the consequence's [Elwin] ? Duncan's [Jennens] ? — Its is rare in Shakes., 
is found but three times in Milton, and not at all in King James' ver- 
sion of the Bible (1611). — Surcease (Fr. surseoir, to pause, intermit, 
leave off ; sursis, sursise, intermitted ; Lat. supersedere, to forbear, desist 
from, omit), delay? arrest (of the consequence) [Elwin, Clark and 
Wright]? conclusion or cessation (Rolfe]?. — success=sequel [Staun- 
ton]? issue, result [Meiklejohn] ? good results, prosperity? — 6. but 
here = only here? — school. So the third and fourth folios ; the first 
two have schoole. Most editors change it to shoal, which means either 
a shallow place or a sand-bank or bar. Their interpretation either 
mixes the metaphors in hank and shallow, or is tinged with tautology, 
"bank and up-sloping sandbank of time? " Tieck, Heath, Elwin, etc., 
take hank to mean scbool-bench. " It is a doublet of hencli. The old- 
est sense seems to have been ' ridge,' whence hank, a ridge or shelf of 
earth. A. S. hene, Dutch and Ger. hank, a bench. Mountehank, a char- 
latan,is one who mounts a bench to proclaim his nostrums." Skeat. Those 
who retain school as the reading find confirmation in lines eight and 
nine, in the words teach, instructions, and taught. Does this interpreta- 
tion make good sense? — 7. jump = try to overleap and take no cog- 
nizance of [Meiklejohn] ? risk, hazard [Clark and Wright, Schmidt, 
etc.]? — "I am about to take my leap in the dark," i. e., die. Rah- 
elais. Swedish (7?(wpa, to spring, jump, or wag about heavily; Dan. 
gumpe, to jolt. — life to come=life after death [Malone] ? remaining 



84 MACBETH. [act i. 

We still have judgment here ; that we but teach 

Bloody instructions, which being taught return 

To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice 10 

Commends the ingredience of our poison'd chalice 

To our own lips. He 's here in double trust: 

First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, 

Strong both against the deed; then, as his host. 

Who should against his murderer shut the door, 15 

Not bear the knife myself. Besides this, Duncan 

Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been 

So clear in his great office, that his virtues 

Will plead like angels trumpet-tongu'd against 

The deep damnation of his taking-off; 20 

And pity, like a naked new-born babe, 

years of this life [Keightley] ? — Does a loss of belief in a retribution 
after death tend to open the path to the commission of crime? Does 
Macbeth believe in a future state? — 8. that = so that [Clark and 
Wright] ? I, ii, 58. — 10. this. Omitted by Pope for the sake of the me- 
tre. Judiciously? — 11. commends = offers [Steevens, etc.]? com- 
mits? entrusts? applies? — Lat. cum, with, together; manddre, to com- 
mit. Under commend, Skeat says mandare is " a word of uncertain ori- 
gin;" but under mandate he says of it, "Lit. to put into one's hand, 
from man; stem of manus, the hand, and dare, to give." — See III, i, 
38. — ingredience. So the folios read. Pope and almost all the editors 
since have changed it to ingredients. The latter naturally refers to the 
separate component materials ; the former to the resulting mixture ? 
Which is better here? — Lat. in, in, into; gradi, to walk: ingredi, to 
enter upon ; ingredient- (stem of present participle) , enter into ; Fr. 
ingredient. IV, i, 34; Par. Lost, XI, 417. — chalice=cup? communion 
cup? Root KAL, to hide, contain, A. S. calic, cup, fr. Lat. calix, cali- 
cem; Fr. caMce, a calix, cup. Skeat. — Any allusion to the eucharist? — 
12. double. It has often seemed to me that triple would be better 
here, if we could change and in line 13 to next. But have we a right to 
make such changes? — 16. Beside this, etc. The word this goes better, 
perhaps, with hesides; but the folios join it to Duncan, and all the edit- 
ors have followed them. It seems a little strained to say " This Dun- 
can," as if he were to be singled out? — 17. faculties=honors, digni- 
ties, prerogatives [Hudson] ? Official powers [Rolfe] ? — Faculties are 
active powers, abilities, capacities to do, rather than honors received 
and "dignities heaped up" upon one? Lat. facere, to do; facilitas, 
facultas, capability to do; Fr. faculte. — meek. Adverb or adjective? 
Abbott, 1. — 18. clear = pure, stainless, guiltless? — 20. taking-oflF. 
Euphemism? See III, i, 104; Lear, V, i, 65. — 21. babe, etc. "Either 
like a mortal babe terrible in helplessness; or like heaven's child- 
angels mighty in love and compassion " [Keightley] ? Keightley adds, 
"This magnificent passage seems founded on the history of Darnley's 
murder (Froude ix, p. 86). The banner (of the confederates against 
Queen Mary) was spread betw^een two spars. The figure of a dead 

man was wrought on it, lying under a tree and a child 

on its knees at its side, stretching its hand to heaven and crying, 
' Judge and revenge my cause, O Lord.' " But does not Keightly miss 



SCENE VII.] 31 AC BETH. 85 

Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubin, hors'd 

Upon the sightless couriers of the air, 

Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, 

That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur 25 

To prick the sides of my intent, but only 

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself 

And falls on the other — 

the point? It was not a "neiu-borji" babe that knelt and cried! Nor 
is a babe ever terTihle. It is not terror but tenderness that "a naked 
new born babe" symbolizes and awakens; and it is tender pity, not 
terrible vengeance, that Macbeth is thinking of in lines 16-25. Yes, 
the " milk of human kindness " is fully recognized by him as pervading 
others' breasts if not his own. — 22. striding, etc. Pity? or the babe? 

— cherubin = cherub? or cherubs? Clark and Wright say, "The 
plural is unquestionably required," and they change the word to the 
Hebrew plural chenibim. But Shakes., like Spenser, always makes 
cherubin singular. For plural, Spenser repeatedly has clieruhins and 
seraphins. — What is the impropriety in interpreting thus : Pity, strid- 
ing the blast, like a naked new-born babe in its tenderness, or like a 
heavenly cherub in its swiftness (and sacredness?), horsed upon, etc.? 
The word " babe" suggests a cherub. Hebrew feVit'b, plural Wru'him. 

— 23. sightless. I, v, 47. II, i, 36. — See note on I, iv, 11. — cour- 
iers = winds [Johnson] ? not winds, but invisible posters of the 
divine will [Seymour] ? — French courrier a courier, fr. courir, to run ; 
Lat. currere, to run. — This line reminds of Psalms, xviii, 10; q. v. —25. 
that = so that? See line 8. — drown, etc. A very copious down- 
pouring of rain sometimes seems to stop the wind. — " Tears like rain 
shall lull the wind which bears the tidings" [Moberly] ? The meta- 
phor is about as extravagant as that in Julius Ccesar I, i, .59, 60, where 
the " commoners " are told to weep their tears into the Tiber " till the 
lowest stream Do kiss the most exalted shores of all." Troilus and 
Cressida, IV, iv, 53. — no spur . . . but . . . ambition = 
no spur besides ambition [Clarlc and Wright, substantially] ? no spur ; 
but I have ambition? — "Upon this 'I have no spur,' follows close, with 
poetical aptitude, the entrance of Lady Macbeth." Morley. — 26. in- 
tent Metamorphosed into a steed? Some speak of a "man of one 
idea " as " riding his hobby " everywhere? — 27. itself. Landor sug- 
gests its sell, i. e., saddle. Needfully? — Self stands here for aim or pur- 
pose, as we often say such a one overshot himself, that is, overshot his 
mark or aim [Hudson] ? So we say " he overreaches himself " ? — 28. 
th' other — what? side [Hudson, Hunter, etc.]? Steevens says, 
"The general image, though confusedly expressed, relates to a horse, 
who, overleaping himself, falls, and his rider under him !" The other, 
then, would mean the other — individual? Staunton makes intent and 
ambition two steeds, one lazy to the last degree, the other so fiery that 
it overreaches itself and falls on its companion horse ! Bailey would 
change t?i' other to the earth! He would also change self to seat. Mason 
substitutes the rider for th'' other! Jackson would read theory, as a good 
thing to fall on ! Hudson says " The sense feels better without " side; 
but he afterwards inserts it ! — Rev. John Hunter makes other mean 
"dishonor and wretchedness, instead of glory and felicity." — Mas- 
sey, who would change sides to side, says, "As the text stands, we have 

a most extraordinary horse and rider. Macbeth was 

no more likely to wear a single spur that would strike on both sides 



86 MACBETH. [act i. 

Miter Lady Macbeth. 

How now! what news? 

Lady Macbeth. He has almost supp'd : why have 
you left the chamber? 

Macbeth. Hath he asked for me? 

Lady Macbeth. Know you not he has? 30 

Macbeth. We will proceed no further in this business: 
He hath honor'd me of late; and I have bought 
Golden opinions from all sorts of people, 
Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, 
Not cast aside so soon. 

Lady Macbeth. Was the hope drunk 35 

Wherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since? 
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale 
At what it did so freely? From this time 
Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard 
To be the same in thine own act and valor 40 

than the Irishman was to discover the gun that would shoot round 
the corner. Moreover his horse must have had three sides to it at the 
least. Now, a horse may have four sides, right and left, inside and 
outside, and the street gamins will at times advise an awkward horse- 
man to ride inside for safety ; but it cannot have three sides ! And if 
the single spur had pricked two sides, there could have been no other 
left for ' vaulting ambition ' to fall on. The truth is that sides is a 
misprint. The single spur of course implies a single side — the side of 
Macbeth' s intent, which leaves '■the other ^ for the 'vaulting ambition' 
to alight on in case of a somersault — the side of Macbeth' s itnuitenf." 
— 29. Why have you left, etc. Why had he? Was it a suspicious 
circumstance? — 32. bought = acquired [Clark and Wright] ? gained 
by paying for them? See "purchased" in Mer. of Venice, II, ix, 42. — 
34. would = requir,(^ to [Abbott, 239] ? should [Clark and Wright] ? de- 
sired to be [Moberly] ? would, as persons, like to be? — Shakespeare 
abounds in metaphors from dress. Instances? — 35, 36. hope driink. 

dressed. "Objectionable; for it makes Hope a person 

and a dress in the same breath. It may, however, probably be justified 
on the supposition that Lady Macbeth is playing on her husband's pre- 
vious expression, 'I have bought golden opinions,' etc." — Is a mixture 
of metaphors natural in her astonishment at her husband's sudden 
change of purpose in this most critical hour? — Hudson thinks dress'' d 
is for addressed, meaning 'prepared, made ready. He prints ''dress''d. . — 
When did he dress himself in hope? I, vi, 20. — Bailey, to avoid the 
" absurdity of dressing in what may become intoxicated," says, "Read 
hless^d for dress^l, and all is plain and apposite and Shakespearian." — 
Your judgment! — 39. such = a sickly affair? Bailey, who would 
change did in line 38 to eyed, because Hope should not look backward, 
cooly proposes to read here, " Such I account thy liver'' ^ ! " The liver 
being the organ of courage, or rather, perhaps, of cowardice." — " I ac- 
count thy love .... only such as this hope, a mere drunken 
fancy." Bitter. — 39. afeard. I, iii, 96; IV, iii, 34, — 41. have. John- 



SCENE VII.] MACBETH. 81 

As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that 
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, 
And live a coward in thine own esteem, 
Letting ' I dare not ' wait upon ' I would,' 
Like the poor cat i' the adage? 

Macbeth. Prithee, peace: 45 

I dare do all that may become a man; 
Who dares do more is none. 

Zadi/ Macbeth. What beast was 't then 

That made you break this enterprise to me? 
When you durst do it, then you were a man; 
And, to be more than what you were, you would 50 

Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place 
Did then adhere, and yet you would make both: 
They have made themselves, and that their fitness now 
Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know 
How tender 't is to love the babe that milks me: 55 

I Avould, while it was smiling in my face, 
Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums 
And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you 

son suggested and Moberly adopts leave for have; Becket suggests 
crave; Hudson adopts lack. Choose ! — that = the crown? the cour- 
age?— 43.- esteem = estimation? — In Euripides, Electra says to 
Orestes, "Do not, through cowardice.^ become unmanly.'''' Trace pf 
Shakespeare's Greek studies? — 45. adage. Low Lat. Catus amat 
pisces, sed non vult tingere plantas; Fr. Le chat aime le poisson,mais il 
n'' aime pas h mouiller ses pattes ; Heywood^s Proverbs (1566) has " The cat 
would eat fish and would not wet her feet." — Pr'ythee = I pray thee? 
— 47. do. The folios have no. Rowe, 1709, made the change, and 
nearly all editors have followed him. Hunter retains ?io, and assigns 
the line to Lady Macbeth ; but this makes the then, at the end of the 
line, come in awkwardly. — As Macbeth had expressed a readiness to 
do more than was becoming to a man, she adroitly employs the argu- 
mentum ad hominem; he must be a beast or fiend, or under brutal or 
diabolic influence! "Beast" she chooses to saj^, and with great em- 
phasis. In 49, 50, 51, she refutes his " who dares do more is none" ? — 
Collier would read boast; and Bailey, baseness, instead of beast. Beast 
was a far less offensive word in that age, equivalent to creature? See 
Rev. vii, 11 — 4. break = broach? disclose? — JMicn did he break it 
to her? — 50. to be = in being? to, sometimes, with infinitive form = 
for, about, in, as regards, etc. Abbott, 356. — 52. adhere = cohere 
[Rolfe, etc.] ? agree or consist with the purpose [Hudson] ? — 53. that 
their fitness. A Latin idiom? — 55. babe. Any historical mention 
of her offspring? — 58. the brains. The is often used for the possess- 
ive pronoun in the old writers. Greek idiom? — Sworn. When? Is 
here an allusion to conversation on the subject before the battles de- 
scribed in the second scene? "At last he satisfied his wife by swear- 
ing that he would murder the King and usurp the throne at the first 
opportunity." White's Studies in Shakespeare. — Moberly says, "He 



88 MACBETH. [act i. 

Have done to this. 

Macbeth. If we should fail? 

Lady Macbeth. We fail? 

But screw your courage to the sticking-place, 60 

And we '11 not fail. When Duncan is asleep — 
Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey 
Soundly invite him — his two chamberlains 
Will I with wine and wassail so convince 
That memory, the warder of the brain, 65 

Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason 
A limbeck only: when in swinish sleep 
Their drenched natures lie as in a death, 

had not sworn ; in fact had only agreed to 'speak further.' " See p. 21, 

— 59. If we should fail ? — We fail ? — Mrs. Siddons, after much 
experiment, preferred to give the falling inflection to the last fail^ 
"modulating her voice to a deep, low, resolute tone, which settled the 
issue at once." Says Mrs. Jameson, " This is consistent with the dark 
fatalism of the character and the sense of the line following, and the 
effect was sublime, almost awful." Try it! We adopt here the folio 
punctuation, but it is confessedly bad in many places, and is nowhere to 
be implicitly followed. Some emphasize we with a tone of indignant 
surprise. — Says Dyce, "She hastily interrupts her husband, check- 
ing the very idea of failure." This would require the rising slide on 
faill — Says Hudson, " I take the meaning to be, ' If we fail, then we 
fail, and there's the end of it;' " and he punctuates thus: 'If we fail. 

— . — 60. scre\v. Metaphor from some engine or mechanical conti-iv- 
ance [Clark and Wright] ? from the tuning of a stringed instrument 
[Moberly] ? screwing up the chord of stringed instruments to their 
proper degree of tension, when the peg remains fast in its sticking-place 
[Steevens] ? Sticking-place — fixed point, with a covert allusion to the 
death-dealing (sic) spot chosen by the butcher [McNeil] ? Was John 
Shakespeare a butcher? Was McNeil? Lady Macbeth? — 62. rather 
= sooner. A. S. hrathe, quickly ; Icel. Jiradr, swift ; Mid. Eng. rath, 
early ; 7-athe, soon ; rather, earlier, sooner ; rathest, soonest. — See 
" rathe primrose " in Milton's iycidas, 142. —64. wassail (A. S. waes, 
be, hael, hale, whole, sound; waeshael! a salutation on drinking healths. 
The answer was drinc hael! drink hale!) revelry [Clark and Wright, 
etc.] ? health-drinking [Moberly] ? — Milton has wassailers, Comus, 179. 

— convince (Lat. con, cum, completely; vincere, to conquer), over- 
come. — Shakes, has a large Latin vocabulary? — IV, iii, 142. — Ahhntt, 
p. 12. — 65. Avarder, etc. The old anatomists divided the brain into 
three ventricles. In the hindermost, the cerebellum, connected by the 
spinal marrow with the rest of the body, they placed the memory as a 
sentinel to warn the reason. ■ — 66. fume (Lat. /?imi<s, smoke), smoke, 
vapor? — receipt = receptacle? — Bacon, Essays, xlvi, calls a fount- 
ain-basin a " receipt of water." See " receipt of custom," Matt, ix, 9. 
Lat . recepcre, to take back, receive ; re, back ; capere, to take ; recepta- 
culum, receptacle; recepta, thing received. — "The brain itself, the 
receipt or receptacle of reason." Clark and Wright. " The cavity filled 
by the brain, the skull"? — 67. limbeck is contracted from Arabic 
alembic; al, the; anhik, a still; Gr. aju.|8i|, ambix, a cup, goblet; the cap 
of a still; akin to Gr. 6|0L</)aA.6s, omphalos; Lat. umbo, boss of a shield. 



SCENE VII.] MACBETH. 89 

What cannot you and I perform upon 

The unguarded Duncan? what not put upon 70 

His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt 

Of our great quell? 

Macbeth. Bring forth men-children only; 

For thy undaunted mettle should compose 
Nothing but males. Will it not be receiv'd, 
When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two '75 

Of his own chamber and us'd their very daggers, 
That they have done 't? 

Lady Macbeth. Who dares receive it other, 

As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar 
Upon his death? 

Macbeth. I am settled, and bend up 

Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. 80 

Away, and mock the time with fairest show: 
False face must hide what the false heart doth know. 

[^Exeunt. 

In the old distillery, the vapors of the boiling liquid were condensed 
in the limbeck or cap at the top of the apparatus. Milton uses limheck, 
Par. Lost, III, 605. — The head is full of the overpowering fumes of 
alcohol? — Hudson says the passage "is far from being a felicitous 
one." Is he correct? — 68. a death. Why is a used here? — 71. 
spongy, "because they soak so much liquor" [Hudson]? HamletjIV, 
ii, 14, 15; Mer. of Venice, I, ii, 86. — 72. quell = subdue, defeat 
[Elwin] ? murder [Hudson, etc.]? Schmidt thinks it euphemistic. 
So Elwin says, " By using QiteZi she contrives to veil the heinous nature 
of their guilt." — Likely? A. S. cwellan, to kill; originally, probably, 
to choke; Mid. Eng. queUen, to kill. The sense of quell is "to choke," 
torture, that of kill, to "knock on the head." Skeat. — By the word 
(/?-eat would she convey the idea that the act is heroic? — 73. mettle, 
doublet of metal. " No distinction is made in old editors between the 
two, either in spelling or use." Schmidt. — Gr. (jLiraWoy, metallon, pit, 
mine, mineral, metal ; fr. fxeraWdio, metallao, I search after. Mettle is 
spirit, ardor. The allusion is to the temper of the metal of a sword- 
blade. Skeat. — Richard III, IV, iv, 304. — 74. received = accepted 
(as true) ? — Meas. for Meas., I, iii, 16. — 75. marked with blood, etc. 
Has he already formed the design to murder the chamberlains? - - 77. 
other = otherwise? Ahhott, 12. — 78. as = seeing that [Clark and 
Wright] ? since? — 79. bend = strain? — Metaphor from what? — 80. 
corporal agent = bodily power? — 81. mock the time = beguile 
the time? I, v, 61 . — Dramatic value of this scene? Light thrown by 
it on the characters of the principal actors i 



90 MACBETH, [act ii. 



ACT II. 

Sce:n^e I. Court of MachetNs Castle. 

Enter Banquo, and Fleance hearing a torch before him, 

Manquo. How goes the night, boy? 
Fleance. The moon is down, I have not heard the clock. 
JBanquo. And she goes down at twelve. 
Fleance. I take 't, 't is later, sir. 

JBanquo. Hold, take my sword. — There's husbandry in 
heaven; 
Their candles are all out. — Take thee that too. — 5 

ACT II. Scene I. Line 1. How goes the night? In what sense 
is Qoe8 used? — 4. Hold, take my sword. Why divest himself of his 
sword? " Here we come," says Flathe, " to a speech of Ban quo' s to 
his son, to which we must pay special heed, since upon it the earlier 
English commentators have based their ridiculous theory that Ban quo, 

in contrast to Macbeth, represents the man unseduced by evil 

Banquo here endeavors, as far as possible, to assert his own innocence 
to himself, while, for the sake of his future advantage, he intends to 
oppose no obstacle to the sweep of Macbeth' s sword. , , . . He must be 
able to say to himself, in the event of any fearful catastrophe, 'I never 
thought of or imagined any danger, and so I laid aside my arms. ' ' ' Prob- 
able? — husbandry = thrift? frugality, economy? — A. S. husbonda, 
master of a house; Icel. Titfs, a house; Imancli, dwelling, inhabiting; 
fr. bua, to dwell. — 5. Their. The critics make heaven a collective 
noun. But, in this familiar conversation, may not Banquo, having 
mentioned heaven as a place, properly say t/ietr, alluding to Vae dwellers^ 
— Take thee that, too. What? dirk, dagger, sword-belt? Banquo 
has put from him,several weapons of defense, from horror at the par- 
ticular use his dreams have prompted him to make of them [ElwinJ ? 
Banquo hands to Fleance something else, a sword-belt or dagger, not 
lest he might be tempted to use them, but because in a friend's house 
he was perfectly secure [Clark and Wright] ? It is necessary that he 
should pretend to himself that here, in Macbeth's castle, no danger can 
threaten Duncan nor any one else. Therefore his sword need not rest 
by his side, and he gives it to his son [Flathe] ? See also Flathe' s com- 
ment on the preceding line. — A slight indication of a want of caution 
is intended by this parting with the weapons [Moberly] ? It may be 
presumptuous to offer another explanation, but one who has often been 
burdened by the weight and inconvenience of arms worn all day and 
half the night may be pardoned for suggesting that the tired Banquo, 
without any subtle or profound purpose, may seize the earliest possible 
moment to divest himself of sword, belt, sash, dagger, or any armor 
or decorations, on leaving the great dining-hall, and hand them to his 
son while en route for their sleeping apartment. — thee=to thee? thou? 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. 91 

A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, 
And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers, 
Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature " 
Gives way to in repose! — 

Enter Macbeth and a Servant loith a torch. 

Give me my sword. — 
Who's there? 10 

Macbeth. A friend. 

Banquo. What, sir, not yet at rest? The king's a-bed: 
He hath been in unusual pleasure, and 
Sent forth great largess to your offices. 
This diamond he greets your w^ife withal, 15 

By the name of most kind hostess; and shut up 
In measureless content. 

Macbeth. Being unprepar'd, 

Our will became the servant to defect, 
Which else should free have wrouoht. 

Banquo. All's well. 

I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters: 20 

To you they have shoAv'd some truth. 

Macbeth. I think not of them; 

Yet, when we can entreat an hour to serve. 

See note on I, v, 23. Ahbott, 212 — 6. heavy=drowsy, sleepy [Schmidt] ? 
lead. Why not " gold" ? See leaden mace in Julius Ccesar, lY, iii, 265, 
266.-7. would not sleep. Why? See line 20. — 8. cursed thoughts 

^thoughts of Macbeth that arise in his mind [FlatheJ ? Macbeth be- 
comes a willing prey to cursed thoughts ; Banquo prays to be kept from 
them [Steevens and MoberlyJ ? — AVhat, sir, not yet at rest? — An 
instance of what Abbott, 513, calls " the amphibious section." See II, 
iii, 77. — 14. offices = servants' quarters, butler's pantry, cellars and 
kitchen [Malone] ? Many change offices to officers. Wis'ely? — "The 
lower parts of London houses are always called offices.''^ Nares. — Rich- 
ard II, I, ii. 69 ; Othello, II, ii, 8. — Lat. ops, npes, help ; facere, to do ; offlcium, 
the doing of service ; duty, service ; by metonymy, the place of duty or 
service. — 15. Avithal. I, iii, 57. — 16. shut up = shut up all; or shut 
up the day; or concluded [Clark and Wright] ? summed up all (by ex- 
pressing measureless content) [Schmidt]? (is)enclosed [Boswell] { shut 
himself up [Singer] ? composed himself to sleep [Hudson, Meiklejohn] ? 
It is a wonder that some Yankee does not suggest the provincial objur- 
gation, "shut up!" i. e., " stop talking ! " — Folios 2, 3, 4, have shut it 
up; whence Hunter says it means "undoubtedly the jewel in its case." 
— 18. Avill . . . defect. Note the lively personification. — 19. ft*ee =^ 
with free scope, liberally? " TF7n'c/? refers to wilV" [Malone] ? — Ahhott.l. 
See II, iii. 119. — Note the antithesis between servant and free! — All's 
well. Note the neatness of Macbeth" s apology and Banquo' s reply. 
Haumer and Capell would read AlVs very well, and so complete the me- 
tre. Rightly ? — 20. dreamt. See lines 8, 9. — 22. entreat an ho.ur 



92 MACBETH. [act ii. 

We would spend it in some words upon that business, 
If you would grant the time. 

JBanquo, At your kind'st leisure. 

Macbeth. If you shall cleave to my consent, when 't is, 35 
It shall make honor for you. 

Banquo. So I lose none 

In seeking to augment it, but still keep 
My bosom franchis'd and allegiance clear, 
I shall be counsell'd. 

Macbeth. Good repose the while ! 

Banquo. Thanks, sir: the like to you ! 30 

\Exeunt Banquo and Fleance. 

Macbeth. Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready, 

to serve = ask you to put an hour at our service [Rolf ej ? prevail upon 
an hour of your time to be at our service [Clark and WrightJ ? hour 
to serve=favorable hour [Darmesteter] l--Much.Aclo^ III, ii, 73.- -we, 
in 22 and 23, "The royal we by anticipation" [Clark and Wright] ? Why 
not we, meaning simply " you and I"? — 24. kind'st. '•'•-Est in superla- 
tives is often pronounced st after dentals and liquids." Ahhott, 473. — 
25. conseiit=party [Heath, Rolfe, etc.] ? opinion [Collier] ? the agree- 
ment with me [Delius] ? The force of ?he Latin concentus (harmony, 
concord, originally spoken of singing) [Steevens] ? either party or plan 
[Clark and Wright] ? — White thinks here is a misprint of consort, 
meaning party. " I cannot make sense of consent.'''' Keightley. Capell 
and Bailey prefer ascent. In Shakespeariana, March, 18S4, the present 
editor wrote : "The word 'consent' is exactly right and even felicitous. 
Macbeth at the outset is not without ambition, but he wishes to be 
without guilt. He would like to be merely passive. ' If chance will 
have me king, why chance may crown me, without my stir.' Later 
on|he would ;^fain seem the passive recipient of the royal dignity, 
merely giving his consent. He will wait patiently, not 'catch the near- 
est way.' Consent is the only word that expresses the attitude in 
which he would appear to Banquo in view of the possible fulfillment 
of the witch's prediction." — 'tis. What is? Macbeth meant it to 
to be vague? — 28. franchis'd = free, unstained, innocent [Schmidt, 
etc.]? Late Lat. /rajicits, free; fr. Old High Ger. /Vajico ; Pr. francMr, 
to free one's self; franchise, freedom. Bracket. Mid. Eng. /ranc/itse?i, 
to render free, endow with the privileges of a free man. "Love Virtue ; 
she alone is /ree"; Milton's Comus, 1018. — 31. drink. This "night- 
cap " or " posset " was an habitual indulgence of the time [El win] ? — 
II, ii, 6. — 32. strike. Subjunctive? Ahbott, 311, 369.— Why is "she" 
inserted? — bell. — " He did not venture to trust himself, or she did 
not venture to trust him, to decide the moment when he should take 
the fatal step ; and it was arranged between them that her striking on 
her bell should be the signal for his entrance of the king's chamber. 
As he was awaiting this summons in the court, his heated imagination 
caused his eye to be deceived with an illusion. He thought he saw a 
dagger floating in the air, with its handle toward his hand, and that it 
moved before him toward Duncan's chamber, blood breaking out upon 
it as it went." White. — "Macbeth wanted no such mechanical signal 
as a bell for the performance of the murder ; the bell which afterwards 
strikes is the clock, which accidentally, and with much more solem- 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. 9 a 

She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed. — [Exit Servant. 

Is this a dagger which I see before me, 

The handle to^ward my hand? — Come, let me clutch thee. 

I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. 35 

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 

To feeling as to sight? or art thou but 

A dagger of the mind, a false creation, 

Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? 

I see thee yet, in form as palpable 40 

As this which now I draw. 

Thoi^ marshall'st me the way that I was going ; 

And such an instrument I was to use. — 

Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, 

Or else worth all the rest: I see thee still ; 45 

And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood. 

Which was not so before. — There's no such thing : 

It is the bloody business which informs 

Thus to mine eyes. — Now o'er the one half world 

«: _ — . 

nity, reminds him it is tim.e to dispatch." Seymour. — Choose between 
the two. — 33. Is this a dagger. Emphasis on dagger., as if it were 
so dim that it might be mistaken for something else ? or emphasis on 
is, the question being as to the reality f — "It is an apparition coming 
and vanishing, a phantom raised by the witches." Sheridan Knnwles. 
"A delusion [sic] appearing after the manner of the Highland second 
sight, which sees, e.g., a shroud round the image of a man who will 
soon be slain." Moherly. "Differing from what we should term a real 
honafide dagger, as a painting of a dagger differs from a real one." A. 
Roffe, 1851. — 36. sensible = perceptible, tangible [Schmidt]? See 
note on I, iv, 11. — 41. " The missing syllables give time to glare back- 
wards [backwards? Where is the dagger carried?] and forwards ; first 
at the real, then at the visionary dagger" [Moberly] ? See note on I, 
ii, 20. — 42. marshall'st. Old High Ger. marah, a battle-horse (akin 
to Eng. mare) ; schalh, Mid. High Ger. shale, a servant ; Old H. G. mar- 
aschalh, an attendant upon a horse. Fr. marechal, Eng. marshal, master 
of horse (a title of honor) , master of ceremonies. Skeat, and Brachet, — 
44, 45. fools .... senses . . . worth all the rest, etc. Either my 
other senses fool my eyes, or else my eyes are worth them all? — 46. 
dudgeon = haft (of a dagger) ? The root of the box-tree was called 
dudgeon, apparertly because it was curiously marked, "crisped dam- 
ask-wise" or "full of waving." The word is of unknown, probably 
Celtic, origin. Skeat. — " Scottish daggers having generally the han- 
dles of box- wood." Singer. — gouts = drops? — Old Fr. goute, fr. Lat. 
gutta, drop. The sense of gout (the disease) comes from the old belief 
that these joint-pains are caused by drops of humor which swell the 
joints. Brachet. — 48. informs = creates forms [Schmidt, Moberly] ? 
shapes (the dagger) [Schmidt, Meiklejohn] ? gives information [Clark 
and Wright]? I, v. 81, Lat. informdre, to put in form, give form, 
mould; tell; Fr. informer, to inform; Lat. in, and forma, shape, figure. 
— 49. one half Avorld. Why one half ? Is more than half always 



94 MACBETH. [act ii. 

Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse 50 

The curtain'd sleep ; — witchcraft celebrates 

Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder, 

Alarum'd by his sentinel the wolf. 

Whose howl 's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, 

With Tarquin's ravishing sides, towards his design 55 

light? — "One" was probably pronounced by Shakes, not as now, "won," 
but"un." Abbott, 80. Hence an and one differed not much. — 50. 
abuse = deceive [Clark and WrightJ ? misuse [Schmidt] ? Hamlet II, 
ii, 590. — 51. This line complete? Many critics insert now before witch- 
craft. Others change sleep to sleeper. "Shakes, introduced the long 
pause (between 'sleep' and 'witchcraft') to add to the solemnity of 
the description [Knight] ? curtained sleep. Milton's phrase, "close- 
curtained sleep," Comus, 554. — I, ii, 5. — 53. Hecate's. . Dissyl. ? So 
in Comus, 135 (but not in 535) ; Lear, I, i. 103 ; Hamlet, III, ii. 237 ; Mac- 
beth, III, ii, 41; V, 1. — Daughter of Perses and Asteria, and reckoned 
one of the secondary Titans? She is often identified with Selene or 
Luna in heaven, Artemis or Diana on earth, and Persephone or Pros- 
erpina in the lower world; a threefold goddess (the full moon, partially 
illuminated moon, and the invisible moon?) with three bodies or three 
heads; attendant on the wife of Pluto; supposed to send nocturnal 
demons and phantoms from the lower world, and to teach sorcery and 
witchcraft ; dwelling at cross-roads, tombs, and near the blood of mur- 
dered persons ; wandering with the souls of the dead, and evoking at 
her approach the whinings and bowlings of dogs. The things offered 
to her, with rites implied in the word " celebrates," were dogs, honey, 
and black ewe lambs. — Why is she called " pale " ? — Avither'd. Why 
withered? Old in crime? Are murderers usually old or young? — 58, 
alarum'd = summoned? struck with alarm? — Fr. alarme, a cry " to 
arms," the call of sentinels surprised by the enemy. Ital. alle, to the 
(for a, to; le, the), and arme (plu. of arma), weapons; Low Lat. ad illas 
armas (where armas is Low Lat. plu.). Thus Ital. aWarrne! is our to 
arms! Brachet, Skeat. — 54. w^liosehoAvl's his Avatch. "The wolf's long 
howl," as Campbell has it, repeated at intervals, is strikingly like the 
shrill, sing-song cry some of us used to hear at Libby Prison, Richmond, 
Va., during the Civil War, from the confederate sentinels, in succes- 
sion, as one after another caught it up and repeated it along the chain 
of sentry stations — "Post No. 14, twelve o'clock, and all's well!" 
'•Post No. 15, twelve o'clock, and all's well!" etc. — Milton recol- 
lects this passage when he writes Comus, 532-535? — 55. Tarquin's. 
Sextus Tarquinius, guilty of the rape of Lucrece about 510 B. 'C. — 
sides, etc. A difficult passage. We give the usual explanations, 
sides = takes sides with Tarquin's ravishing? in imagination joins 
Tarquin in his desperate crime? In Coriolanus, 1, i, 186, and IV, ii, 2, 
" side" and " sided " are verbs, meaning "take sides with" and "taken 
sides." Pope changed " sides " to " strides," and most commentators 
adopt that reading, making " strides" to mean long, cautious steps on 
tip-toe, and this reading and explanation were adopted by the present 
editor in Masterpieces in Eng. Lit., p . 128. But does not this change give 
too much prominence to the kind of movement already sufficiently de- 
signated? — Fleay (in S^aTcespearfmia, Dec, 1883) makes " ravishing " 
a noun, puts a comma after it, and reads sides towards his design, mean- 
ing "sides, or moves stealthily towards his design." Johnson would 
put a comma after "ravishing," and read "slides toward." Knight 
would change "with" to "which," and interpret "sides" to 



SCENE I.J MACBETH. 95 

Moves like a ghost. — Thou sure and firm-set earth, 

Hear not my stejis, which way they walk, for fear 

Thy very stones prate of my whereabout. 

And take the present horror from the time. 

Which now suits with it. — Whiles I threat he lives: 60 

Words to the heat of deeds too cool breath gives. 

[A bell rings. 

mean "matches," thus: "which Tarquin's ravishing matches." 
Hunter would change " with " to " or. " Moberly retains 
sides, and thinks it may be a form of the Saxon " sith," a 
step. Jackson changes sides to ideas! — But, as the present editor 
showed in the magazine Education, in May, 1887, and again in the uni- 
versity magazine, The Student, in June, 1888, "sides" is here probably 
a noun, meaning companionship, group of companions, or party. My 
"side" is my party. In Lucrece, stanza xxiv, lines 167, 168, we read, 
"Pure thoughts are dead and still, while Lust and Murder wake to 
stain and kill. " In Milton's Comus "night and shades are joined with 
hell in triple knot." In Macbeth, III, ii, 53, "night's black agents to their 
preys do rouse." Observe that to "take sides" is a familiar expression 
for joining a party or becoming an adherent. A "sidesman" in Milton 
is a partisan. The word now means an assistant to a church-warden. 
Tarquin''s ravishing sides may be Tarquin's ravishing party, the crew of 
evil spirits, "the grisly legions that troop under the sooty flag of Ache- 
ron," together with 

" Thoughts black, hands apt, arms fit, and time agreeing. 
Confederate season" [Hamlet, III, ii, 234, 235.] 

— m a word, the gang of devilish agencies and auxiliaries "that wait on 
nature's mischief," and that throng around Tarquin. With these, for 
the moment, withered Murder'joins and moves towards his bloody 
deed. — 57. steps, which, etc. = which way my steps walk. Shakes, 
often uses this construction; as, "You hear the learned Ballario, what 
he writes." Mer. of Ven., IV, i, 158. Mark, i, 24; Luke, iv, 34; Ahbott, 
414.— The original in all the folios reads, "steps, which they may walk." 
Should we retain it I Our rule is, adhere to the old folio reading, if a 
good sense can fairly be drawn from it. — 59. take the present hor- 
ror = take away the present horror [Steevens, Rolfe, etc.] ? " Mac- 
beth . , . . designatesthemurder as the present horror." Elwin. "What 
was tne horror he means ? Silence.''^ Warhurton. Steevens, Malone, 
Hudson, Rolfe, Darmesteter, Clark and Wright, etc., also say silence. 
— Burke in his Essay on the Suhlime and Beautiful speaks of the awf ul- 
ness of silence, citing Mneid, VI, 264, 265. Others quote Mneid, II, 
755 ; Statins, Achilleid, II, 391 ; Tacitus, Annal, 1, Ixv. — 60. whiles. I, v, 5. 
—61. Words .... gives = too cold breath gives (mere empty) words 
to (match or accompany) the heat of deeds? — The commentators all 
make words the subject of gives; and, as this looks like the third person 
singular, they resort to various explanations to account for the form. 
Clark and Wright think the verb is attracted, as it were, to the singular 
nouns between words and gives. Moberly concurs. Abbott, 333, thinks 
such apparent singular number may be really a plural form in s, such 
as prevailed in the north of England ; as the plu. form in -en did in 
middle England, and -th in the south. — Clark and Wright, Fleay, Hud- 
son, and some others, regard the words from whiles to done as inter- 



96 MACBETH. [act ii. 

I go, and it is done; the bell Invites me. — 

Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell 

That summons thee to heaven — or to hell. [Exit. 

Scene II. The same. 
Enter Lady Macbeth. 

Lady Macbeth. That which hath made them drunk hath 

made me bold ; 
What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. — Hark ! 

Peace! 
It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman. 
Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it; 
The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms 5 

Do mock their charge with snores ; I have drugg'd their 

possets, 

polated. — 62. bell. See note on line 32. — 63. knell = passing bell, 
which was formerly tolled as the person was dying [Elwin] '\ — A word 
of imitative origin, like 7c/ioc/c. A. S., cnyllan, to beat noisily; cnyl, a 
knell. — State and discuss the most important questions raised by this 
scene. 

Scene II. — 1. made me bold. How? — Emboldened by the guard's 
intoxication [Moberly] ? Lady Macbeth had had recourse to wine in 
order to support her courage [Clark and Wright] ? She has just been 
drinking [Darmesteter, who refers to I, vii, 63, 64] ? Says Mrs. Grif- 
fith, " Our sex is obliged to Shakespeare for this passage. He seems 
to think that a woman could not be rendered completely wicked with- 
out some degree of intoxication."' Rolfe well remarks, " Moberly' s 
explanation seems rather forced ; and the other (Mrs. Griffith's), we 
think, goes too far in assuming that the lady was intoxicated. In say- 
ing, ' that which hath made them drunk,' she implies that she herself 
was not drunk." To which Mrs. Griffith might rejoin that a drunken 
person often thinks himself sober and others intoxicated? — Your 
opinion? — 3. owl. The screech-owl has for many hundreds of years 
been regarded as a bird of evil omen. Ovid's Metam., v, 550; Virgil's 
.^neid, iv, 462, 463 ; Spenser's Epit^mlammm, stanza 19; Richard III, I'V, 
iv, 505. — Whenever it appeared in Rome, an expiatory sacrifice was 
ordered. Tschischwitz (Nachkldnger germanischer Mythe, ii, 30) shows 
that the superstition is common to England and Germany, and to some 
extent to all the Indo-European family. — bellman. Spenser (Faerie 
Queene, V, vi, 27) calls the cock "the native bellman of the night." 
" I am the common bellman. 
That usually is sent to condemned persons 
The night before they suffer. " [Webster' s Duchess of Malfl. 
— 5. grooms (A. S. guma; Icel. gumi; Lat. homo, a man), servants. 
Old Dutch grom; Old Icel. gromr, a boy. — 6. mock. By alternate 
snoring as if in mimicry ! By making a mockery of their duty by neg- 
lect? — cliarge=Duncan ? the duty of watching for the safety of Dun- 
can. — Why does she hear them? Has Macbeth opened the door, and 
is he listening before closing it? — possets. " Posset is hot milk 



SCENE II J MACBETH. 97 

That death and nature do contend about them, 
Whether they live or die. 

Macbeth. \^Within.'\ Who's there? what, ho! 

Lady Macbeth. Alack, I am afraid they have awak'd, 
And 't is not done. The attempt and not the deed 10 

Confounds us. Hark! I laid their daggers ready; 
He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled 
My father as he slept, I had done 't. — My husband! 

Enter Macbeth. 

Macbeth. I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a 

noise? 
Lady Macbeth. I heard the owl scream and the crickets 

cry. 15 

poured on ale or sack (sherry), having sugar, grated biscuit, eggs, with 
other ing]-edients, boiled in it, which goes all to a curd." Holme, 1688. 
II, i, 31. Hamlet, I, v, 68. This semi-liquid curd was eaten or drunk 
before retiring. —7. that = so that? I, ii, 58. Abbott, 283. Line 23. — 
nature. Meaning? — 8. Who's there? *' Macbeth fancies that he 
hears some noise (see line 14), and in his nervous excitement has not 
sulflcient control over himself to keep silence" [Clark and Wright]? 
Picture the scene ! Has he at this moment committed the deed, or has 
he, having gone in and listened, returned to the door on hearing a slight 
noise, and then, to test the matter of a possible intruder or spy being 
present, asked, "Who 's there? what, ho?" and, hearing no answer, 
does he return inside and close the door, and then strike the blow? — 
9. alack. Probably not a corrruption of alas, but ah! lord! otherwise 
it may be referred to Mid. Eng. lak, signifying loss, failure. Thus alack 
would mean ah! failure, or ah! a loss! Skeat. — 10. The attempt and. 
not the deed = an unsuccessful attempt? the attempt confounds, but 
the deed does not? — 11. nconfounds = ruins? fills with consternation? 
The former is the usual meaning in Shakes. Seethe last line of the Te 
Deum, " Let me never be confounded,''^ and the familiar imprecation, 
"Confound it!" Hamlet, III, ii, 160. —Confound is a doublet of confuse. 
Lat. con, together ; fundere, to pour ; melt. The word is much weaker 
than formerly?— 12, 13. Had he not, etc. " This touch of remorse, 
awakened by the recollection of her father whom she had loved in the 
days of her early innocence, is well inti^duced, to make us feel that 
she is a woman still, and not a monster." Clark and Wright. More of 
this "sign-post criticism" would be acceptable from the keen editors of 
the Clarendon Press edition ; for it makes us feel that they are men 
still, and not mere grammatical machines ! — 15. crickets. Accord- 
ing to Grimm (1089), crickets foretold death. Furness. — 16. Hunter's 
distribution of the speeches is followed by Furness thus : 

Macbeth. Did not you speak? 

Lady M. When? Now? 

Macb. As I descended. 
Mr. Fleay, in Shakespeariana, December, 1883, arranges in the same 
way, with the exception of taking the " Now " from Lady M. and giv- 
ing it to Macbeth, thus : "Now, as I descended." We follow the folios, 



98 MACBETH. , [act ii. 

Did not you speak? 

Macbeth. When? 

Lady Macbeth. Now. 

Macbeth. As I descended? 

Lady Macbeth. Ay. 

Macbeth. — Hark! 
Who lies i' the second chamber? 

Lady Macbeth. Donalbain. 

Macbeth. This is a sorry sight. [Looking at his hands. 20 

Lady Macbeth. A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight. 

Macbeth. " There 's one did laugh in 's sleep, and one 
cried " Murder! " 
That they did wake each other; I stood and heard them: 
But they did say their prayers, and address'd them 
Again to sleep. 

Lady Macbeth. There are two lodg'd together. 25 

Macbeth. One cried " God bless us! " and " Amen " the 
other; 
As they had seen me with these hangman's hands, 
Listening their fear. I could not say " Amen," 
When they did say " God bless us! " 

Lady Macbeth. Consider it not so deeply. HO 

Macbeth. But wherefore could not I pronounce "Amen? " 

which leave unanswered Lady Macbeth's question, " Did not you 
speak? " The reason why it was not answered was because Macbeth 
heard a noise which made him say "Hark !" instead of replying. We in- 
dicate this omission by a dash. Rightfully? — Locate the apartments. — 
20. The stage direction was not in the folios, but inserted by Capell. 
Wisely? Line 27. — sorry. A. S. ^arig., sad; %ar^ sore. No etymolog- 
ical connection with %ottow. Skeai. — "How can it be a sorry sight 
when it crowns us?" Moberly. — 22. There 's. That is, in the second 
chamber, where lay the son of the murdered king [Hunter J ? or is 
"there" a mere expletive? — 24. address'd them = uttered an invo- 
cation? prepared themselve^ [Clark and Wright] ? — Lat. dirigere, to 
direct; ad, to, in addition; Lat. directus, fr. deriget-e became success- 
ively dirictus, drictus; whence dirictiare, Ital. dirizziare^ drizzare, French 
dresser, to erect, arrange. See Hudson's note on "dressed" in I, vii, 36. 
— 25. lodg'd = like stags "lodged" or tracked home for to-morrow's 
hunting [Moberly] ? prostrated [Delius] ? a derisive conclusion of the 
Jady to Macbeth's last words [Delius, and Bodenstedt] ? reposing in 
bed, quartered in the apartment? Decide ! — 27. as:=as if? in the way 
in which? I, iv, 11. "^s appears to be, though it is not, used by Shakes, 
for as if.'''' Abhott, 107. — hangn(ian's=executioner's? — Mer. of Ven., 
IV, i, 120. In Much Ado, III, ii. 10, Cupid is called the little hangman! — 
28. r fear. "Surely this ought to be 'listening their prayer.'' " Bailey. — 
" The preposition is sometimes omitted after verbs of hearing." Ab- 
bott, 199. — Julius Ccesar, TV, i, 41. — 31. I amen, etc. "Egotistic 



SCENE II.J MACBETH. 99 

I had most need of blessing, and " Amen " 
Stuck in my throat. 

Lady Macbeth. These deeds must not be thought 
After these ways; so, it will make us mad. 

Macbeth. Methought I heard a voice cry " Sleep no 
more! 35 

Macbeth does murder sleep " — the innocent sleep, 
Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care, 
The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath. 
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course. 
Chief nourisher in life's feast, — 

Lady Macbeth. What do you mean? 40 

Macbeth. Still it cried "Sleep no more!" to all the house : 
" Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore CaWdor 
Shall sleep no more; Macbeth shall sleep no more." 

Lady Macbeth. Who was it that thus cried ? Why, 
worthy thane. 
You do unbend your noble strength, to think 45 

So brainsickly of things. Go get some water. 
And jwash this filthy witness from your hand. 
Why did you bring these daggers from the place? 
They must lie there: go carry them, and smear 

hypocrisy as if murder and praying could go hand in hand." 

Bodenstedt. — 33, stuck in my throat. Is it conscience that chokes 
his utterance? Was prayer habitual with him? I, v, 19. — 33. thought. 
Hanmer and Keightly add on. Needfully ? - - 34. So. How ? — 35. 
sleep, etc. Where should this " voice " end? With feast [Hanmer, 
Singer, Moberly, etc.] ? With murder sleep [Johnson, Hudson, White, 
etc.]? Your reason? — 37. ravell'd =tangied [M. Mason]? unwoven 
[Elwiu] ? — In Old Dutch the word ravelen has reference to the un- 
twisting of a string or woven texture, the ends of the threads of which 
become entangled togther in a confused mass. To ravel out is not ex- 
actly to disentangle, but to unweave. Skeat. — sleave (Danish sloi/e, 
a bow-knot; Ger. schleife, a slip-knot), soft fioss-silk; ravelVd sleave, 
tangled loose silk [Skeat] ? Elwin retains the folio spelling, sleeve, and 
thinks it means the arm-covering worn into loose threads. — 38. death. 
Warburton would read Im^th. Judiciously? " Poets, from the time of 
Job till now, have spoken gently of death as a rest for the weary." 
Masterpieces, p. 130. — See Dvid's Met., xi, 623; Sir Philip Sidney's As- 
trophel and Stella (1600) ; Wolfe's St. Peter's Complaint (1595) ; Young's 
Night Thoughts, line 1. — 42. murdered sleep. Several editors ques- 
tion the genuineness of lines 42, 43, on the ground that they are un- 
worthy of Shakespeare. Justly? — 45. to think = in thinking [Hud- 
son] ? by thinking? — I, vii, 50; Abhott. 356.-46. brainsickly = 
madly [Schmidt]? timidly^ giddily? feebly, sillily? Not elsewhere 
used in Shakes. — See lines 65, 68, 72. — water. Lines 60, 67; V, i, 58. 
— 47. witness. Personification? evidence? testimony? — 52. Infirm* 



100 MACBETH. [act ii. 

The sleepy grooms with blood. 

Macbeth, I'll go no more : 50 

I am afraid to think what I have done ; 
Look on 't again I dare not. 

Lady Macbeth. Infirm of purpose! 

Give me the daggers : the sleeping and the dead 
Are but as pictures ; 't is the eye of childhood 
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, 55 

I '11 gild the faces of the grooms withal ; 
For it must seem their guilt. [^Exit. Knocking vyithi7i. 

Macbeth. Whence is that knocking? 

How is 't with me, when every noise appals me? 
What hands are here? Ha! they pluck out mine eyes. 
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 60 

Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather 

of purpose. Rev. W. W. Davis calls my attention to this phrase as 
being from tn^rmitatem consitii, in Cicero; Multeres omnes, propter m- 
Urmitatem consilii, majores in tutorum potentate esse voluerunt. Oratio pro 
Murena. — 55. fears = affrights [Delius] ? Delius thinks devil is the 
subject of the verb! — 56. gild. So in King John, II, i, 316, " all gilt 
with Frenchmen's blood." See Macbeth, II, iii, 93; for the play on the 
word, 2 Henry IV, IV, v, 129, Henry V, II, Chorus, 26.-57. gilt. "Fero- 
cious levity." Elwin. "A play of fancy here is like a gleam of ghostly 
sunshine striking across a stormy landscape." Clark and Wright. 
This is capital "sign-post" criticism; but is not the lady's jest a des- 
perate attempt to bring Macbeth back to his senses? Another parono- 
masia in V, viii, 48? — knocking. Who knocked? See beginning of 
next scene. — For the philosophy of " The pecilliar awfulness and depth 
of solemnity reflected back upon the murder" by the knocking at the 
gate, see De Quincey's Miscellaneous Essays, p. 9, Boston, 1851, quoted 
in Furness, pp. 437, 438: "The knocking at the gate is heard; it makes 
known audibly that the reaction has commenced ; the human has made 
its reflux upon the fiendish ; the pulses of life are beginning to beat 
again ; and the re-establishment of the goings-on of the world in which 
we live first makes us profoundly sensible of the awful parenthesis 
that had suspended them." — At what time was the knocking? At what 
time the murder? How long did the knocking continue? See lines 20- 
22, next scene. — 60. Will all great Neptune's ocean, etc. Similar 
are CEdipus Tyrannus, 1227-8, "For I ween that neither the Danube nor 
Phasis can wash away this stain;" Seneca's Hippol., ii, 715-718; Lu- 
cretius, I, vi, 1076; two lines quoted by Steevens from Catullus's In 
Gellium, 5, "not remotest Tethys, not Oceanus, sire of the nymphs, can 
wash away." See peroration of Henry Clay's speech on the Expung- 
ing Resolution. — 61. this my hand. Cranmer-like, lifting the right 
hand? Why the transition from both to one? — 62. multitudinous 
seas = aggregate of seas, or multitude of waves [Steevens] ? seas 
which swarm with masses of inhabitants; or the countless masses of 
waters [Malone] ? — As admirably descriptive as Homer's 7roAv<^Adio-/3oio 
i^aAao-tTTj?, poluphloisboio thalasses, of the loud-resounding sea. Bolfe. — 
" Surely there is more than a verbal, there is a genuine similarity be- 



SCENE II.] MACBETH. 101 

The multitudinous seas incarnadine, 
Making the green one red. 

He-enter Lady Macbeth. 

Lady Macbeth. My hands are of your color ; but I shame 
To wear a heart so white. \Knochi71g within.'\ I hear a 

knocking 65 

At the south entry : retire we to our chamber. 
A little water clears us of this deed : 
How easy is it, then! Your constancy 
Hath left you unattended. [ICnocking within.] Hark! more 

knocking. 
Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us 70 

And show us to be watchers. Be not lost 
So poorly in your thoughts. 

Macbeth. To know my deed, 't were best not know 

myself. [^Knocking xoithin. 

Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst! 

\Exeunt. 

tween the av^pn^jnov ye\a<rixa [anerithmon gelasma, -^schylus' Prome- 
theus, 90, countless laughter, many-twinkling smile] and the " unnum- 
bered beach" [Cymbeline I, vi, 35] and "multitudinous seas." Lowell. 
— "What home bred English could ape the high Roman fashion of such 
togated words as 'the multitudinous seas incarnadine' — where the hud- 
dling epithet implies the tempest-tossed soul of the speaker, and at the 
same time pictures the wallowing waste of ocean more vividly than the 
famous phrase of ^schylus does its rippling sunshine?" Lowell — 
Had he, then, "small Latin"? — incarnadine. Lat, caro, carnis, 
flesh; Fr. incarnadin, "of a deep, ricn, or bright carnation." Cotgrave. 
— 63. green, etc. "The imagination of Macbeth dwells upon the con- 
version of the universal green into one pervading red'''' [Elwin] ? "He 
made the Green Sea red with Turkish blood;" "The multitudes of seas 
dyed red with blood." Hey wood (1601). — Elwin' s view is supposed to 
be countenanced by Hamlet, H, ii, 443, "Now is he total gules" ; and by 
Milton's Comus, 133, "makes one blot of all the air." Murphy would 
print, "making the green — one red," and Garrick upon mature reflection 
adopted this reading. Weigh and decide ! — 65. heart so -white. IV, 
i, 85, "pale-hearted fear." — Red blood a sign of courage? See Mer. of 
Venice, H, i, 7? HI, ii, 86; Macbeth, V, iJi, 11 to 18. — 66. retire we. 
First person, imperative mood [Hudson] ? — 68. constancy=firmness 
[Clark and Wright] ? courage [Singer] ? — unattended=and now you 
have no attendant? or, without your usual attendant (constancy)? — 
70. nightgOAvn=loose gown, or dressing gown, robe de chamhre? V, 
I, 4. Object of this injunction? — In those days were nightgowns worn? 
White says not. Shakes, is not careful in respect to anachronisms? 
f, ii, 36, 62. — 71. ivatchers. A. S. wacian, to wake, watch; allied to 
Lat. vigil, wakeful. V, i, 9. — 72. poorly=:meanly [Clark and Wright] ? 
weakly? Lat. paw-per, providing little ; fr. jmu, little, few; and par, 



102 MACBETH. [act ii. 

Scene III. The Same. 

Enter a Porter. Knocking vnthin. 

Porter. Here 's a knocking indeed! If a man were porter 
of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key. [Knock- 
ing vnthin.^ Knock, knock, knock! Who 's there, i' the 
name of Beelzebub? Here 's a farmer, that hanged himself 
on th' expectation of plenty : come in time ; have napkins 

(as in pardre, to provide). — Richard II, III, iii, 128. — 73. To ]£now=if 
I must forever know [Moberly] . II, iii. 111, To is often vague at the 
beginning of a sentence, as in Macbeth, IV, ii, 69, "To fright," etc. Ab- 
bott, 356, 357. Is his remark any answer to her abjurgation? — 74. The 
folios have I would. Pope and others omit I; Steevens and others 
change it to Ay. Propriety? — Your comments on this scene? — White 
insists that it is a part of the preceding scene, and accordingly he so in- 
cludes it, as well as the following, in Scene I. Correctly? 

Scene III. This soliloquy, except the last part beginning, "I'll 
devil-porter it no longer," is pronounced by Coleridge and others to be 
unworthy of Shakespeare. But Hudson says of it: " My thinking is 
decidedly different. I am sure it is like him, I think it is worthy of 
him, and would by no means have it away. Its broad drollery serves 
as a proper foil to the antecedent horrors, ana its very discordance 
with the surrounding matter imparts, an air of verisimilitude to the 
whole." — "The role that the porter, in his tipsy mood, assigns himself , 
and the speeches that he makes in character, stand in significant con- 
nection with the whole tragedy. Awakened by the knocking at the 
castle gate, he imagines himself porter at the entrance of hell. And 
this brings us to the central point of the drama, wherein is revealed to 
us the deepest fall made by man into the abyss of evil. For those 
who, like Macbeth, plunge into it voluntarily and knowingly, the other 
world can unclose no garden of delights ; an allegorical hell awaits 
them. Therefore it is of hell that the porter speaks." Flathe. — " The 
mind needs the change which the porter's nonsense brings, and this 
drunken levity adds to the horror. 'Life, struck sharp on death, 
makes awful lightning.'" Our Masterpieces, p. 131. Without this 
scene Macbeth's dress cannat be shifted, nor his hands washed. Capell. 
—porter. The porter is a portress in Othello, IV, ii, 90, and Paradise 
Lost, ii, 746. — old turning = a fine quantity of turning 
[Moberly]? In Mer. of Yen., IV, ii, 16, we have "old swear- 
ing"; in Merry Wives, 1, iv, 5, "old abusing." So the boys in 
New England speak of ' 'a high old time. " — Dyce pointed out that vecchio 
was soused by the Italians. "Old work" is said among the lower 
classes in Warwickshire of an unusual disturbance. J. R. Wise. So 
"auld far rant" or "old fashioned," means "cunning" in Scotch dialect. 
— As to the " part of speech " of " tui'ning," and the omission of " of " 
after it, etc., see Abbott, 93. — a farmer, etc. "And hang'd himself 
when corn grows cheap again." Hall's Satires, iv, 6 (1597). Malone 
and others think this helps to fix the date of the play in 1606, when 
there was unusual prospect of plenty of corn. — 5. come in time = 
you have come in time [Rolfe] ? You are welcome [Hudson] ? Come 
in, Time! ("Time" being a whimsical appellation for the farmer) 
[Staunton]? See below, "Come in, equivocator," etc. — be in time, 
i. e., early [Clark] ? — napkins. " What for "? — Fr. nappe, a table- 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 103 

enow about you; here you '11 sweat for 't. [Knocking 
within.] Knock, knock I Who 's there, in th' other devil's 
name? Faith, here 's an equivocator, that could swear in 
both the scales against either scale; who committed treason 
enough for God's sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven: 
O come in, equivocator. [Knocking within.'] Knock, knock, 
knock! Who 's there? Faith, here 's an English tailor 
come hither, for stealing out of a French hose: come in, 
tailor; here you may roast your goose. [Knocking icithin.] 
Knock, knock; never at quiet! What are you? But this 
place is too cold for hell. I'll devil-porter it no further: I 
had thought to have let in some of all professions, that go 
the primrose way to the everlasting bonfire. — [Knocking 
\mthin.] Anon, anon! I pray you, remember the porter. 

[ Opens the gate. 

cloth; dim. suffix -Tcin ; fr. Low Lat. nappa, corruption of mappa, cloth, 
napkin ; whence ma^g^ a painted cloth. Shakes, uses the word repeat- 
edly for pocket-handkerchiefs, as in Julius Ccesar, III, ii, 131, "dip their 
napkins in his sacred blood." — enow; old plural of enough. So 
Mer. of Veil., Ill, v, 17, and IV, i, 29. A. S. genoh; Mid. Eng. inoh, inow, 
enogh; plu., inohe, inov)e. The plu. ynowe is in Chaucer. C. T., 10784. 
Skeat. — 6. about you. Delius thinks he may have hanged himself 
with a handkerchief, and appeared with it about the neck ! — for 't. 
For what? — 7. other devils = Lucifer's or Satan's or — ? — 8. 
equivocator. Warburton says it means a Jesuit. Henry Garnet, 
Superior of the order, on trial for the Gunpowder Treason March 28, 
1606, is said to have avowed and justified the doctrine of equivocation, 
viz., that it is right to use ambiguous expressions with a view to mis- 
lead . Lat. aequus, equal (i. e. alternative) ; voc-, base of vox, voice, 
sense ; Lat aequivocus, of doubtful sense. — 10. equivocate to hea- 
ven = get into heaven by lying. — 13. French hose, etc. — An "old" 
joke on tailors! "A French hose being very short and strait, a 
tailor must be master of his trade who could steal anything from 
thence" [Warburton]? "The Gallic hosen are made very large and 
wide." Stubbs's Anatomic of Abuses (1585). It seems they were of two 
kinds, common, and stylish; the former "containeth neither length, 
breadth, nor sideness"; the latter "containeth length, breadth and 
sideness sufiicient, and is made very round." In Mer. of Venice. I. ii, 
65, the large kind is supposed to be meant. French fashions changed 
often. — 14. goose. "VVTiy goose? Why roast? — 15. at quiet. Bible 
usage? Judges xviii, 27. — As to at, see Ahhott, 143, 144; our edition of 
Hamlet, note on at help. IV, iii, 43, p. 151.— 18. primrose. Hamlet. I. iii, 
50. AlVs Well, TV. v, 45. — 19. bonfire. " The singular words, 'ever- 
lasting bonfire,' have been misunderstood by the commentators. A bon- 
fire at that date is invariably given in the Latin dictionaries as equiva- 
lent to pyra or rogus; it was the fire for consuming the human body 
after death ; and the hell-fire differed from the earth-fire only in being 
everlasting. This use of a word so remarkably descriptive in a double 
meaning (for it also meant feu de joie: See Cotgrave) is intensely 
Shakespearian." Fleay. — remember the porter. By giving him 



104 MACBETH. [act ir. 

Enter Macduff and Lennox. 

Macduff. Was it so late, friend, ere you went to bed, 20 
That you do lie so late? 

Porter. Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock. 
Macduff. Is thy master stirring? 

Enter Macbeth. 

Our knocking has awak'd him; here he comes. 

Lennox. Good morrow, noble sir. 

Macbeth. Good morrow, both.25 

Macduff. Is the king stirring, worthy thane? 

Macbeth. Not yet. 

Macduff. He did command me to call timely on him : 
I have almost slipp'd the hour. 

Macbeth. I '11 bring you to him. 

Macduff. I know this is a joyful trouble to you ; 
But yet 't is one. 30 

Macbeth. The labour we delight in physics pain 
This is the door. 

Macduff. I '11 make so bold to call, 

For 't is my limited service. \Exit. 

Lennox. Goes the king hence to-day? 

Macbeth. He does: he did appoint so. 

Lennox. The night has been unruly; where we lay, 35 
Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say, 
Lamentings heard i' the air, strange streams of death, 

a penny? — 22. the second cock = " about 3 o'clock in the morning," 
So say Malone, Mason, Clark and Wright, Rolfe, etc., all quoting, 
"The second cock hath crow'd. The curfew bell hath rung, 't is three 
o'clock." Rom. and Jul., IV, iv, 3. But does the quotation fix the time 
of "the second cock" any more than it fixes the time of "the curfew"? 
— See note on II, ii, 57. — 27. timely. Adjectives are often used ad- 
verbially in Shakes. See Abbott, I. See Macbeth, II, i, 19. — 28. 
slipped. See note in our edition of Par. Lost, i, 178, on "slip the occa- 
sion." — 31. physics. Gr. (|)uo-is, physis, nature ; Lat. p/jysica. natural 
science. 'Engphysic, the art of healing ; a remedy ; a cathartic. — Tempest, 
III, i, 1-15 ; Winter's Tale, I, i, 36 ; Cymbeline, III, ii, 34. — 32. so hold to. 
"In relatival constructions, 6. g. so .... as, so .... tft^at, etc., one of the 
two can be omitted in Shakes." Abbott, 281. — 33. limited = ap- 
pointed [Warburton] ? restricted? conditional? Lat. limes, limitis, a 
boundary; Fr. limiter, to limit. In Meas. for Meas., IV, ii, 158; King 
John, V, ii, 123 ; Rich. Ill, V, iii, 25, limited, or limit, appears to mean 
appointed, or appoint. — Was Macduff a "Lord of the Bedchamber"? 
Who seems to have put Duncan to bed? — 34. he did appoint so. 
He starts back into a mending of his speech, as from a spontaneous Im- 



SCENE III.] MAC BETS, 105 

And prophesying with accents terrible 

Of dire combustion and confus'd events 

New hatch'd to the woeful time; the obscure bird 40 

Clambor'd the livelong night; some say the earth 

Was feverous and did shake. 

Macbeth. 'Twas a rough night. 

Lennox. My young remembrance cannot parallel 
A fellow to it. 

He-enter Macduff. 

Macduff. O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart 45 
Cannot conceive nor name thee! 

f'*^*"'^- i What 's the matter? 

Lennox. \ 

Macduff'. Confusion now hath made his masterpiece, 

Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope 

The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence 

The life o' the building. 

pulse to be true to himself [Hudson] ? So in I, v, 58 ? — prophesying 
= foretelling [Clark and Wright] ? uttering solemnly [White] ? — Pro- 
verbs, xxxi, 1, Ezekiel, xxxvii, 4, 7, 9, 10 ; Matthew, xxvi, 68. Gr. jrpd, pro, 
publicly, before all ; before in time ; ^-nyii, phemi, I say, I speak. — For 
the metre, see V, viii, 41. —39. combustion = civil conflagration? 
social confusion? — Used figuratively in Henry VIII, V, iii, 39. — Lat. 
con, completely; ur^re, to burn. — 40. new-hatch'd. What was? 
Johnson would put a period after "events" and a comma after "time," 
and so make it the bird. 2 Henry IV, III, i, 80 to 86, is quoted by Malone 
as a parallel passage. It speaks of ^'■things. As yet not come to life, 
which, in their seeds. And weak beginnings, lie intreasured. Such 
t/imgs become the hatch and brood of time." — to the "woful time = 
to suit the woful time [Malone] ? the time's brood [Clark and Wright] ? 
as an added woe in the sad epoch? the newest birth of a baleful time 
[Moberly?] — obscure = loving the dark [Dyce] ? little known? — 
Hudson, following Walker, changes obscure to obscene, to which he 
gives the Latin sense of ill-omened. Three folios have "obscure" ; one, 
"obscure."- Accent? In Mer. of Ven., II, vii, 51; Richard 11, HI, iii, 
1.54; Hamlet, TV, v, 193, it seems to be accented on ob. — Lat. ob over, 
towards; -scurus, covered; |/sku, to cover; whence A. S. scua,scuwa, 
shade ; Sanscrit sku, to cover ; Icel. shy, a cloud ; Mid. Eng. sMe, skye, 
cloud; Eng. scum; Ger. schaum, Fr. ecume, froth, foam covering a 
liquid. — 42. feverous = afflicted with ague fever? Coriolanus, I, iv, 
61 ; King John, II, i, 228. — 43. parallel = bring alongside (to match) ] 
adduce as equal [Schmidt] ? — Gr. napa, para, beside, alongside ; aW-qko^, 
allelos, one another. — 45, 46. Tongue .... heart .... 
conceive .... name. Distribute each to each. I, iii, 60. 
Force, of double negatives in Shakes. ? Abbott, 396. Supply ellipsis, if 
any. — 47. Confusion = ruin, destruction? Ill, v, 29. See confounds, 
II, ii, 11. — King John, TV, iii, 1.52. — 49. anointed temple. 1 Samtiel, 
xxiv, 10; 1 Corinth., vi, 19; 2 Corinth., vi, 16. Mixed metaphor? a 



106 MACBETH. [act ii. 

Macbeth. What is 't you say? the life? 50 

Lennox. Mean you his majesty? 

Macduff. Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight 
With a new Gorgon. Do not bid me speak ; 
See, and then speak yourselves. 

[Exeunt Macbeth and Lennox, 
Awake, awake ! 
Ring the alarm-bell. — Murder and treason ! — 55 

Banquo and Donalbain ! — Malcolm ! awake ! 
Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit, 
And look on death itself ! up, up, and see 
The great doom's image ! — Malcolm ! Banquo ! 
As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites, 60 

To countenance this horror. Ring the bell. [Sell rings. 

Enter Lady Macbeth. 

Lady Macbeth. What 's the business, 
That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley 
The sleepers of the house? speak, speak ! 

Macduff. O gentle lady, 

beauty, or a blemish? Hamlet, III, i, 59, and III, iii, 57, 58. — 50. the 
life = the Shekinah, the Divine presence [Moberly] ? — 53. Gorgon. 
The 3 Gorgons were maidens with wings, brazen claws, enormous 
teeth, and hair composed of serpents. Chief of them was Medusa, 
whose aspect was so frightful as to turn every beholder to stone. After 
she was killed by Perseus, Athena placed the head, still retaining its 
pertif ying power, in the center of her breastplate or shield. See Class- 
ical Dictionarv, and Milton's exquisite explanation of the myth, in 
Comus, 447 to 452. — Ovid's Metam., v, 189-210. — 57. downy. Sanscrit 
dhuma, Lat. fumus, smoke; Icel. daunn, a smell, fume; Ger. dU7ist, 
vapor, fine dust. Icel. dunn, down. Down, fume and dust are all from 
the same root ; down is so called from its likeness to dust when blown 
about. Skeat. — 57. counterfeit. Rape of Luc7^ece, 402 \ Mid. NighVs 
Dream, III, ii, 364. See 1st 7 lines of Shelley's Queen Mab. — 59. 
doom's iniage=image of the Last Judgment [Delius] ? — Leai; V, iii, 
264. — What supposed features of resemblance between the two spec 
tacles?— 63. sprites. Ill, v, 27; IV, i, 127. Doublet of spirm Lat. 
8ptrfflre, to breathe ; spiritus, hre-Ath. — 61. countenance=witness? be 
in keeping with [Schmidt] ? give a suitable accompaniment to [Clark 
and Wright J ? encourage ?— Ring the bell. Theobald omitted these 
words, and Johnson and many other commentators follow his reading, 
believing the words to be a stage direction. Wisely? "The tempta- 
tion to strike out these words was the silly desire to complete a ten- 
syllable line." Knight. See notes on I, ii, 5, 7, 20, 34. — 62. business, 
etc. Is Lady Macbeth's language always felicitous? — 63. parley (Lat. 
parabolare, to relate, changed successively in France to parob'tore, par- 
aulare, paroler, parlor) , conference as with an enemy ? — A military term ?• 
Parlor is the talking-room? Parliament "the talking apparatus of a na- 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 107 

'T is not for you to hear what I can speak : 65 

The repetition, in a woman's ear, 
Would murder as it fell. — 

Enter Baxquo. 

O Banquo, Banquo ! - 
Our royal master 's murdered. 

Lady Macbeth. Woe, alas ! 

What, in our house? 

3anquo. Too cruel anywhere. 

Dear Duff, I prithee, contradict thyself, 70 

And say it is not so. 

Re-enter Macbeth and Lex^tox. 

Macbeth. Had I but died an hour before this chance, 
I had lived a blessed time; for from this instant 
There 's nothing serious in mortality : 

All is but toys : renown and grace is dead ; 75 

The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees 
Is left thic vault to brag of. 

Enter Malcolm and Doxalbaix. 

Dojialbain. What is amiss? 

Macbeth. You are, and do not know 't : 

The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood 
Is stopp'd, — the very source of it is stopp'd. 80 

Macduff. Your royal father 's murder'd. 

Malcolm. O, by whom? 

tion"! — 69. in our house. No pity for Duncan ^ The language of 
innocence ? Is there an implied reproof in Banquo's answer i — "On the 
contrary [as contrasted with the lady] her husband, who had repented 

the act, gives all the marks of sorrow for the fact itself " 

fWarburton] ? Test Macbeth' s language, and say if Warburton is 
right. — 72. Had I but died, etc. Winter's Tale., lY. iv, 450. — chance 
=accident [Darmesteter] ? event ? thing that has befallen ] — Lat, ca- 
dere, to fall; cadentia, falling. — 74. niortality=this moi'tal life [Clark 
and Wright] ? human nature? death? subjection to death, or necessity 
of dying, the condition of being mortal i — human destiny [Darmes- 
teter] ? — 7.5. is dead. For the singular number, is, see note on words 
. . . gives, II, i, 61 ; Ahhott, 332, 336. — 77. is left. Ahhott, 333.— vault. 
Metaphor- this world vaulted by the sky [Ehvin] ? — "vvhat is amiss? 
As these \v'ords may go to make up either line 77 or line 78, they illus- 
trate what Abbott, 513, calls "'the amphihioux section"" I So What, sir, 
not yet at rest, II, i, 10. Is it important thus to fill out the lines i See 



108 MACBETH. [act ii. 

Lennox. Those of his chamber, as it seem'd, had done 't. 
Their hands and faces were all badg'd with blood ; 
So were their daggers, which unwipM we found 
Upon their pillows : they star'd and were distracted ; 85 
No man's life was to be trusted with them. 

Macbeth. O, yet I do repent me of my fury, 
That I did kill them. 

Macduff. Wherefore did you so? 

Macbeth. Who can be wise, amaz'd, temperate and fu- 
rious. 
Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man : 90 

The expedition of my violent love 
Outrun the pauser reason. Here lay Duncan, 
His silver skin lac'd with his golden blood, 
And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature 
For ruin's wasteful entrance; there, the murderers, 95 

Steep'd in the colors of their trade, their daggers 

note on line 61. — 83. badg'd. Low Lat. haga^ a ring, collar for the 
neck; akin to Old Sax, hag or hog; A. S. hedh, a ring, an ornament. 
Skeat. — In 2 Henry VI, III, ii, 200, we find "Murder' s^ crimson badge." 
— 86. Emphasizing " No," to make it equivalent to two syllables [Mo- 
berly] ? Is it necessary or important that we somehow make out ten 
syllables in the line? See Knight's remark in note on line 61. — The 
Globe edition. Clarendon Press, Rolfe, and some others, make a single 
line of "Upon their pillows," and another line of "Was to be trusted 
with them." We follow the folios. Wrongly? — 91. expedition = 
swiftness, haste? — "Fiery expedition be my wing." Richard III, IV, 
iii, 54; Two Gent, of Ver., I, iii, 37; "with winged expedition, swift as 
the lightning glance," Milton's Samson ^flfonistes, 1283, 1284. — Lat. ex, 
out ; pes, foot ; expeditus, with foot extricated or unincumbered. — 92. 
outrun. So the folios. Still used interchangeably with outran? — 
pauser. "The -er is often added to show a masculine agent, where a 
noun and verb are identical." Ahhott, 443 For a scientific classifica- 
tion of the origins and uses of the sufflx-er in English words, seeGibbs' 
Teutonic Etymology, pp. 72, 73, 74. — 93. silver . . . golden. "These 
epithets may be intended to have an artificial tone; yet they serve to 
lighten and glorify an image of too great horror ; and, besides this, 
they suit the conception of the saintly king, whose very bodily frame 
is refined and precious" [Moberly] ? — "It was usual to lace cloth of 
silver with gold, and cloth of gold with silver." Steevens. — ^'■Lac^d . . . 
the blood .... diffusing itself into little winding streams." Theobald. 
" Forced and unnatural metaphors . . . a mark of artifice and dissimula- 
tion." Johnson. — "The river Avon is remarkable for its silver eels and 
golden tench ... whence Shakespeare drew 'His silver skin lac'd with 
his golden blood' " ! Harry Lowe. — "A metaphor must not be far- 
fetched, nor dwell upon the details of a disgusting picture, as in these 
lines. Ahhott, 529. — Better in Cymheline, II, ii, 22 ; Bom. and Jul.,!!!, v, 8? 
MueliAdo, III, iv, 18. — See note on II, ii, 56. — Lat. lacgre, to allure ; al-licere, 
to draw on ; laquens, a noose, knot ; Old Fr. las, lags, a snare ; Eng. lace, a 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 109 

Unmannerly breech'd with gore: who could refrain, 
That had a heart to love, and in that heart 
Courage to make 's love known? 

Lady Macbeth. Help me hence, ho! 

Macduff. Look to the lady. 100 

Malcolm. [^ Aside to Donalbain.^ Why do we hold our 
tongues. 
That most may claim this argument for ours? 

Donalhain. ^ Aside to Mal.^ What should be spoken 
here, where our fate, 
Hid in an auger-hole, may rush, and seize us? 105 

Let's away — 
Our tears are not yet brew'd. 

Malcolm. [Aside to Do7ialhain.~\ Nor our strong sorrow 
Upon the foot of motion. 

net- work of threads. — 97. breech'd=covered with breeches, sheathed 
[Farmer, Jennens, Douce, etc.] ? stained to the breeches, that is, to their 
hilts? having their very hilt, or breech, covered [Nares]. Warburton 
would read unmanly re^chhl; Johnson, unmanly dr6nch''d; Heath, in a 
manner lay drencWd; Seward, hatcWd, i. e., gilt. — " Nakedness sug- 
gested the word ^unmannerly\' and covered, the word ' tireee/ies,' the 
covering of nakedness." Jennens. — " Strip your sword stark naked," 
Twelfth Night, III, iv, 237. — On good and bad metaphors, with brief 
comment on this as bad, see Abbott, 529. — 99. make 's. A very com- 
mon contraction in Shakes. — Help me hence. Pretends to faint? 
really faints ? neither? "Macbeth, by his unconcern, betrays a con- 
sciousness that the fainting is feigned" [Whately] ? — " She neither 
faints nor pretends to faint," says one critic. — "Any child could de- 
clare that this swoon was only feigned to avoid all further embarrass- 
ment. But it must not be imagined that there is any feigning here. 
.... The deed she has done stands clear before ber soul in unveiled, 
horrible distinctness, and therefore she swoons away " [Flathe] ? " To 
hear her husband describe his simulated rage in butchering the grooms, 

and draw that painting of Duncan in his blood. ... it is too much 

The nerves part at the overstrain of seeing what the deed is like, and 
drop her helpless into a swoon" [Weiss] ? " Gruach saw at once that 
he had blundered in killing the men, and had thus attracted rather 
than diverted suspicion ; and she saw also that he was overdoing his 
expression of grief and horror, and therefore instantly diverted atten- 
tion from him by seeming to faint and by calling for assistance" 
[White]? — 102. argument=matter in question, or business in hand 
[Schmidt]? theme of discourse, subject? controversy? — "To whom it 
most belongs to take up the case " [Moberly] ? — Paradise Lost, i, 24. — 
Lat. argu^re, to prove, make clear. From |/arg, to shine. In chivalric 
combat the champioji proved by his sword the rightfulness of his 
cause? — 105. auger-hole=minute hole [Clark and Wright]? imper- 
ceptible or obscure place [Elwin] ? " Specifically the auger-hole is the 
hore of a pistol, or the sheath of a dagger." Elwin. — Coriolanus, IV, vi, 
88. J-bbott, 480, as to the metre of line 104. TTTiere is a dissyllable [Mo- 
berly] ? Must we make ten syllables? Line 61. — 106. brew'd. In Titus 
Andron., Ill, ii, 38, tears are " brewed with sorrow." — 107. upon the 



1 1 MACBETH. [act ii 

JSanqiio. Look to the lady: — 

\^L€tdy Macbeth is carried out. 
And when we have our naked frailties hid, 
That suffer in exposure, let us meet, 

And question this most bloody piece of work, 110 

To know it further. Fears and scruples shake us : 
In the great hand of God I stand, and thence 
Against the undivulg'd j^retense I fight 
Of treasonous malice. 

Macduff. And so do I. 

All. So all. 

Macbeth. Let 's briefly put on manly readiness, 115 

And meet i' the hall together. 

All. '' Well contented. 

\^Exeiint all but Malcolm and Donalbain. 

Malcolm. What will you do? Let's not consort with 
them: 
To show an unfelt sorrow is an office 
Which the false man does easy. I '11 to England. 

Donalbain. To Ireland, I : our separated fortune 130 
Shall keep us both the safer ; where we are, 
There 's daggers in men's smiles: the near in blood. 
The nearer bloody. 

Malcolm. This murderous shaft that's shot 



foot, etc . Under the first stunning blow, tears and sorrow alike mo- 
tionless ^ — 108. naked frailties = our half- drest bodies which may 
take cold [SteevensJ ? Was it cold? See line 15. — 113. pretence=in- 
tention, design [SteevensJ ? pretext? — Lat. pretend^re^ to hold out as an 
excuse, allege, pretend; 'prae^ before, tendere, to stretch, spread. II, 
iv, 24. — 115. manly readiness=armor [M. Mason] ? dress [Schmidt, 
Keightley, etc.]? complete clothing and armor [Delius] ? complete ar- 
mor and . . the corresponding habit of mind [Clark and Wright] ? - - 
A. S. ?'aed6, ready ; Old S wed. i^eda, to prepare; Icel. reidi, harness; 
Teut. base rid, raid, to ride. Is she ready? (Cymheline^ II, iii, 79) =is 
she dressed? Skeat.— 119. easy. As in II, i, 19, the adjective for the 
adverb? Ahhott, 1—122. there 's=FrenchiZ y a.— "When the subject is 
as yet future, and, as it were, unsettled, the third person singular 
might be regarded as the normal inflection." Abhott, 335. — near in 
blood=Macbeth, for he was nearest in blood [Steevens] ? — I, ii, 24. — 
Near is supposed by the editors generally to be used here for the com- 
parative wearer? Necessarily so? — J^b&ott, 478 — "Great men's misfor- 
tunes thus have ever stood : They touch none nearly, but their nearest 
blood. ' ' Webster' s Appius and Virginia., v, 2. Richard II^Y., i, 88. — A. S. 
near, comparative adverb, fr. 7ieah, nigh; Mid. Eng. nerre, nearer. 
Near is not a contraction of nearer, but is the orig. comparative form. 
The form nearer is late, not found in the 14th century, perhaps not in 



SCENE IV.] MACBETH. HI 

Hath not yet lighted, and our safest way 

Is to avoid the aim. Therefore, to horse ; I'SS 

And let us not be dainty of leave-taking, 

But shift avs^ay: there 's warrant in that theft 

Which steals itself when there 's no mercy left. \^Exeunt. 

Scene IV. Without the Castle. 
Enter Ross and an old Man. 

Old Man. Threescore and ten I can remember well: 
Within the volume of which time I have seen 
Hours dreadful and things strange; but this sore night 
Hath trifled former knowings. 

Robs. Ah, good father. 

Thou seest, the heavens, as troubled with man's act, 5 

Threaten his bloody stage: by the clock 't is day. 
And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. 

the 15th. Skeat. — 124. not yet lighted. How so ? — dainty of = 

punctilious about? Old Fr. daintie, agreeableness ; fr. Lat. dignitas, 
dignity, worth ; Old Pr. dain, dainty, quaint, the popular Fr. form of 
Lat, digyius^ the more learned form being digne ; Mid. Eng. deynt^ as in 
Chaucer. "Full many a deynte horse had he ia stable." Prologue, 168. 
Skeat. — Troil. and Cressid., T, iii, 145, "grows dainty of his worth." — 
127. shift = steal? As You Like It, II, vii, 157. — warrant = justifica- 
tion? authority? — Old Fr. warrant, voucher; protector, supporter. 
The orig. sense was defending or protecting ; Ger. wahren, to protect. 
Skeat. — Questions raised by this scene? 

Scene IV.-^. trifled. "We trifle time," Mer. of Yen. IV, i, 28&. 
"Any noun or adjective could be converted into a verb." Abbott, 290. 
— Old Fr. trufle, mockery; dim. of truff, a gibe, a mock, "a small or 
worthless object, or a subject for jesting." The meaning is perhaps in- 
fluenced by A. S. trifelian, to pound or bruise small, Skeat. — Know- 
ings=things known? experiences? — 6. act .... stage. These 
words, as well as heavens, designating the roof or ceiling of the stage, 
are supposed to be drawn from the theatre . Rightly supposed ? See 
I, iii, 128. — 7. strangles (Old Fr. estrangler; Fr. etrangler; Lat. 
stranguldre; Gr. (TTpayya\6etv, strangaloein, a-TpayyaM^eiv, strangalizein, 
to strangle; (npayyaXri, strangale, a halter; <Trpayy6<;, strangos, twisted. 
y^STRAG, strain, twist; whence Lat. stringere, to draw tight), suffo- 
cates, chokes? — travelling. Written also travailing. Spelled either 
way it denoted painfully struggling along its road? Almost every road 
in the olden time was " hard to travel " ! — " From a Low. Lat. verb 
travare, to make with beams (trabes), to pen, shackle, put an obstacle 
in one's way. Skeat. — lamp. The sun ? — Psalm xix, 6 ; 1 Henry IV, I, 
ii, 186. — Gr. Aa/aTretv, lampein, to shine, Gr. KaiJ.w<i<;, Lat. lampas, a 
shiner; torch; light; O. F. iampe, a lamp. -- Virgil' s Georgics, 1,466-468, 
refers to similar darkness at and after Caesar's assassination. — See 
Holinshed's account of phenomena following the murder of King 



112 MACBETH. [act ii. 

Is 't night's predominance, or the day's shame, 
That darkness does the face of earth entomb. 
When living light should kiss it ? 

Old Man. 'T is unnatural, 10 

Even like the deed that's done. On Tuesday last, 
A falcon, towering in her pride of place, 
Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd. 

Hoss. And Duncan's horses — a thing most strange and 
certain — 
Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, 15 

Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out. 
Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make 
War with mankind. 

Old Man. 'T is said they eat each other. 

Hoss. They did so, to the amazement of mine eyes 
That look'd upon 't. Here comes the good Macduff. — 20 

Enter Macduff. 

How goes the world, sir, now ? 

Macduff. Why, see you not ? 

Hoss. Is 't known who did this more than bloody deed ? 

Macduff. Those that Macbeth hath slain. 

Hoss. Alas, the day ! 

What good could they pretend ? 

Macduff. They were suborn'd : 

Duff, pp. 17, 18. — 8. predominance = superior power [Meiklejohnj ? 
aggressiveness [MoberlyJ ? — An astrological term often used to denote 
the superior influence of a planet. Lear^ I, ii, 112; Troll, and Cress., II, 
iii, 138 ; AlVs Well, I, i, 138 ; Paradise Lost, viii, 160. — Lat. pre, or prae, 
before; dominari, to be lord, to rule; dominus, lord; domdre, to tame. 

— 9, 10. Antitheses? alliteration? effect? — 12. towering in her 
pride of place = soaring to the highest pitch [Hudson] ? — Towering 
and place are technical terms in falconry. Place meant pitch or highest 
point attained, the very top of soaring. Gr. ruppi?; Lat. turris; Welsh 
tur, A. S. torr, a tower ; Gaelic torr, an abrupt or conical hill or moun- 
tain. — Julius Ccesar, I, i, 73; 1 Hen. VI, II, iv, 11. — 13. mousing. 
Epithet felicitous? — Darmesteter notes that line 12 is sometimes ap- 
plied to Shakespeare fallen into the hands of commentators ! - - Observe 
how the nouns become verbs ! Line 4. — 14. horses. Abbott, 471, 
willhaveitthatthis word isamonosyl. SeeV, i, 22. But — ? — a thing. 
What? Good rhetorical construction? — 15. minions. I, ii, 19. — 
nature. Their whole nature had become suddenly changed [DeliusJ ? 

— 17. as. I, iv, 11 ; II, ii, 27. Abbott, 107. — 18. eat. Milton always 
uses eat for the past tense. Rolfe. Ate (past tense) is not found in the 
early editions. — 24. pretend = hold up before themselves as an 
object or aim? intend? — II, iii, 113. — suborned. Lat. sitif), under, 



SCENE IV.] MACBETH, 113 

Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons, 25 

Are stol'n away and fled, which puts upon them 
Suspicion of the deed. 

Moss. 'Gainst nature still : 

Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up 
Thine own life's means ! Then 't is most like 
The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth. 30 

Macduff. He is already nam'd, and gone to Scone 
To be invested. 

Hoss. Where is Duncan's body ? 

Macduff. Carried to Colme-kill, 
The sacred storehouse of his predecessors 
And guardian of their bones. 

Hoss. Will you to Scone ? 35 

secretly; ornare, to furnish, supply. — 28. ravin = devour voraciously. 
Either wp or clown may follow it, as is the case also with swallow, eat, 
etc. — Anything to do with the bird raven 1 Lat. rapere, to seize, pil- 
lage; rapina, plunder; Fr. rapine, Gr. apwd^oi, harpazo, I seize, snatch, 
{Raven, like crow, is named from its cry; from ]/krap, to make a noise. 
Skeat.) —IV, i, 24; AlVs Well, III, ii, 114; Meas. for Meas., I, ii, 121. — 
Spelled also raven. Genesis xlix, 27. — 29. like. Julius Ccesar, I, ii, 
171 ; Mer. of Ven., II, vii, 49. — 31. Scone. Supposed to have been the 
capital of the Pictish kingdom, two miles north of Perth. The famous 
" stone of Scone," seated upon which the Scottish kings were crowned, 
is said to be the same that pillowed the head of the patriarch Jacob at 
Bethel in the plain of Luz, when he saw the ladder reaching to heaven. 
Genesis xxviii, 12. Tradition asserts that it was first brought to Ire- 
land, and was long used there as the coronation-seat of the Irish Kings ; 
that Fergus, the son of Ere, conveyed it from Ireland to Ion a; that 
afterwards it was deposited in the royal Dunstaffnage Castle near 
Oban, Co. of Argyle; that Kenneth II transported it thence to Scone 
in 842. In 1296, as is well known, Edward I took it to Westminster 
Abbey, where it still remains. All the sovereigns of England, since 
Edward, have been crowned sitting upon this stone, which forms the 
seat of the oak coronation -chair. — 33. Colme-kill. In 1040? Icolm- 
kill, or lona, one of the Hebrides, a barren isle, about 8 miles south of 
Staffa. It is 3 miles long and 1}4 broad. Previous to the year 563 it 
was a seat of Druid worship, and forty years ago it was still called by 
the Highlanders Innisnan-Druidneach, or " the Island of the Druids." 
In that year (.563) Colum M'Felim M'Fergus (St. Columba), an Irish 
Christian preacher, landed and founded a monastery. A noble cathed- 
ral was soon built. St. Columb died at lona about the year 597. From 
this island Christianity and civilization spread far and wide. "All the 
kings of Scotland from Kenneth III to Macbeth, inclusive, 973 to 1040, 
were buried here," as were also kings from Norway and from Ireland. 
The site of the burial-place is still pointed out . The island was several 
times ravaged by the Danes ; and in 1.561, by order of the Convention 
of Estates, the religious buildings were demolished, the tombs were 
broken open, the books burnt, the 350 sculptured stone crosses, with 
two exceptions, thrown into the sea or carried away. Says Dr. John- 
son, " That man is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain 



114 MACBETH. [act ii. 

Macduff. No, cousin, I '11 to Fife. 

Boss. Well, I will thither. 

Macduff. Well, may you see things well done there : 
adieu ! 
Lest our old robes sit easier than our new ! 

Boss. Farewell, father. 

Old 3fan. God's benison go with you, and with those 40 
That would make good of bad, and friends of foes ! 

force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow 
warmer among the ruins of lona." — Kill is cell or chapel; Colme-kUl^ 
the chapel of St. Columba. — There was an ancient prophecy that, 
seven years before the Judgment Day, Ireland and Great Britain 
would be submerged by a deluge, but that lona, " Columba' s happier 
isle, shall rear Her towers above the flood. "^36. thither = to Scone? 
— Note the Laconic brevity of Macduif's speeches in this scene. 
What inference from it as to his mood or purposes? —40. benison. 
Old Fr. benissoriy blessing, Lat. hene, well ; dicere, to speak ; henedictio, 
a speaking of words of good omen. Shortened from henediction, which 
is a doublet of it. — Milton's Comus, 332. — DidMacduff's absence from 
the coronation attract Macbeth' s attention? — Is this scene of any 
special value? — Any indication in it of a readiness to suspect the real 
murderer? — Other instances of apparent sympathy of Nature with 
events in human affairs, of good or evil omens, etc. 1 



MACBETH. 115 



ACT III. 

Scene I. Forres. A Room in the Palace. 

Enter Banquo. 

Banquo. Thou hast it now, king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, 
As the weird women promis'd, and I fear 
Thou play'dst most foully for 't. Yet it was said 
It should not stand in thy posterity, 

But that myself should be the root and father 5 

Of many kings. If there come truth from them — ^ 
As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine — 
Why, by the verities on thee made good, 
May they not be my oracles as well 
And set me up in hope ? But hush ! no more. 10 

Sennet sounded. Enter Macbeth, as hing; Lady Mac^ 

BETH, as queen j Lennox, Ross, Lords, 

Ladies, and Attendants. 

Macbeth. Here 's our chief guest. 

Lady Macbeth. If he had been forgotten, 

It had been as a gap in our great feast. 
And all things unbecoming. 

Macbeth. To-night we hold a solemn supper, sir, 

ACT III. Scene I. — 7. sliine=appear with all the lustre of con- 
spicuous truth [Johnson] ? prosper [Warbui-ton] ? pour splendor ? Mac- 
beth is in the focus of all the rays. — 10. hush! no more. Does he 
check himself, because he would fight against temptation? or because 
he heard the trumpet and knew Macbeth and suite were near? See II, 
i, 6, 7, 8.— sennet. A strain of martial music announcing an arrival? 
— A particular set of trumpet or cornet notes, different from a flourish. 
'Nare,^. Moberly derivres it from Ital. segnare (Lat. signare), to note; 
*'hence music played from note." — 13. all things. So the 3d and 4th 
folios. The 1st has all-thing, meaning every way; the 2d has all-things. 
Furness, Rolfe, and many others read all-thing, and refer to Abbott, 
12, 55, 68. — 14. solenin=given on regular invitation [Boswell] ? cere- 
monious [Schmidt]? official, formal [Clark and Wright] ? — "Theorig. 
sense is, ' recurring at the end of a completed year.' Old Lat. soll-ns 
(cognate with Gr. oAo?, whole) , entire, complete ; and annus, year ; sol- 
emnis, yearly, stated, festive, solemn." Skeat. — Tarn, of Shrew, III, ii, 



116 MACBETH. [act in. 

And I '11 request your presence. 

Banquo. Let your highness 15 

Command upon me, to the which my duties 
Are Avith a most indissohible tie 
For ever knit. 

Macbeth. Ride you this afternoon ? 

JBa/iquo. Ay, my good lord. 19 

Macbeth. We should have else desir'd your good advice, 
Which still hath been both grave and prosperous, 
In this day's council ; but we '11 take to-morrow,' 
Is 't far you ride ? 

JBanquo. As far, my lord, as will fill up the time 
'Twixt this and supper : go not my horse the better, 25 
I must become a borrower of the night 
For a dark hour or twain. 

Macbeth. Fail not our feast. 

Banquo. My lord, I will not. 

Macbeth. We hear our bloody cousins are bestow'd 

95. — supper. "Dinner being usually at eleven or twelve, supper was 
very properly fixed at five." Naves. — 15. Jjet your highness. — 

Note the elegant courtesy: Macbeth uses the word "request," but 
Banquo says "command"! — Rowe changed the text to Lay your 
Highnesses; Pope to Lay your 1iig}niess\ Monck Mason would read 
set for let. Keightly would insert he before upon. After demand we 
still use upon. — 16. Avhioh. Antecedent here ^ Is it rhetorically cor- 
rect for the relative to have a clause or a contained idea for an antece- 
dent? Why in the old writers do we have the which (Fr. leq^lel) and not 
the who? Is who definite already, and which indefinite? Ahbott, 270. 
Use of the which in the Bible? — Is Banquo sincere? — 21. still = con- 
stantly, always? — A. S. stillan, to rest, be still; lit. "to remain in a stall 
or place" ; A. S. steal., stael, a place, station, stall. The sense of still is, 
"brought to a stall or resting-place" ; hence, still=continually, or abid- 
ingly? Skeat. — In Tempest., I, ii, 229, still-vexed = ever- vexed. — Mer. of 
Fe/i.", I, i, 17, 136. In Dry den's great ode we have, "Never ending, still 
beginning. Fighting still, and still destroying." — grave. Lat. g7-aviSy 
heavy ; Fr. grave, serious, weighty ; akin to Gr. /Sapi'?, heavy. Ayran 
root GARU, heavy. — prosperous=causing prosperity? enjoying pros- 
perity? successful? favorable? — Lat. pro., before, according to; spesy 
hope; spero, I hope. — "This (advice) has made him feared by Macbeth. 
See line 52." Moherly. — 22. take, changed by Malone to tof/c. Better? 
— 25. the better. "Because (by that, that) the night is coming on." 
Meiklejohn. "Considering the distance he has to go." Clark and Wright. 
"Better than usual." Hudson. Better than so as to make night trav- 
eling necessary. Masterpieces, p. 138. — The (in Early Eng. thi. thy) is the 
ablative with comparatives, to signify the measure of excess or defect. 
Ahhott, 94. — Go is said to be in the subjunctive mood. AhhotU 361. 364. 
— 27. twain (twain was orig. masculine; two, fem. and neuter), A. S. 
twegen; Aryan y'DUA or |/dwa. —28. I Avill not. Did he keep his 
promise ! — 29. bestow'd = settled, placed [Clark and Wright] ? So in, 



SCENE I.] MACBETU. 117 

In England and in Ireland, not confessing: 30 

Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers 

With strange invention : but of that to-morrow, 

When therewithal we shall have cause of state 

Craving us jointly. Hie you to horse : adieu, 

Till you return at night. Goes Fleance with you? 35 

Bo.nquo. Ay, my good lord : our time does call upon 's. 

JIacbeth. I wish your horses swift and sure of foot ; 
And so I do commend you to their backs. 
Farewell. — [^Exit Banquo. 

Let every man be master of his time 40 

Till seven at night. To make society 
The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself 
Till supper-time alone : while then, God be with you I 

[^Exeunt all but Macbeth ami an Attendant. 
Sirrah, a word with you : attend those men 
Our pleasure ? 45 

Attendant. They are, my lord, without the palace gate, 

HamUt. m. i. BS. — 31. parricide. Lat. pater, father: caM^re. to kill. 
Present meaning' — .83. thercAvithal^besidesthat ■ — cause of state 
=^a subject of political importance- state matters to discuss [Moberly] i 
a subject of debate TClark and Wright] ' — 3-5. Goes Fleance \^'ith 
you? Xotice the adroitness of Macbeth in getting at these particulars '. 
— 3S. commend. Said jestingly, with an affectation of formality 
[Clark and Wright] ; In this place (it means to; commit carefully or 
makeover ]Elwin] ' Commit' I. vii. 11. — 39. FarcAvell. As to the 
broken line — - Some irregularities may be explained by the custom of 
placing ejaculations, appellations, etc.. out of the regular verse."" Ah- 
hfftt. 512. Any other way of accounting for it' I. ii. 5. 7. 20. ?A. — Inline 
S4. we have adieu, fr. Fr. a Oieu. to God (1 commit youj : in line 43 we 
have God he with you. generally contracted to good-hye. Farev:ell=m.ay 
you speed "well. A. S. raran. to go. to speed, akin to Gr. -n-e^ioj. I pass 
through; Ger. fa^ren. to go. Life is ajfourney? — 41. To make soci- 
ety, etc. Is this plausible' — • -Sweeter"" to himf to them? to both J — 
His real reason f — The folios put a comma after night, and a colon after 
v:elcome. Theobald QT.33) made the change. Rightly' Paradise Lost. 
ix. 249,2.50. — 42. "welcome. Substantive, or adjective? — ourself. 
Royal phraseology' See line 7S: II. i. 22. 23. — 43. wliile^mean- 
while? till [Clark and Wright. Hudson. Rolfe. etc.]? In Elizabethan 
English it meant both meanichile and until. Ahhott. 1-37. Richard II. IV. 
i. 2*57: I. iii. 122: Twelfth Sight. IV. iii. 29.— See Macheth. I. v. 5: HI. ii, 
32. .53. — 44. Sirrah. A tenn of address, used to inferiors, or in 
anger or contempt. Sometimes used playfully, as in IV. ii. .30. Icel. sire, 
sirrah: fr. 13th century Fr. sire, sir: Lat. senior, older. Lat. senior be- 
came successively sen'r. sendre. sindre. sidre. sire. Brachet. — attend 
<Lat. ad. to. tendere. to stretch: attendere. to stretch toward, to heed*, wait 
. . . upon, await?— 45. our pleasure. Account for the incomplete line. 
Were it well to make "Sirrah"" stand alone, and begin the line "vvith -a 
word,"" ending it with pleasure? Ahhott. 515. — 46. without the pal- 



118 MACBETH. [act iir. 

Macbeth. Bring them before us. — [JExit Attendant. 

To be thus is nothing ; 
But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo 
Stick deep ; and in his royalty of nature 
Reigns that which would be f ear'd : 't is much he dares, 50 
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind. 
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor 
To act in safety. There is none but he 
Whose being I do fear : and under him 
My Genius is rebuk'd, as it is said 55 

Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters, 
When first they put the name of king upon me. 
And bade them speak to him ; then prophet-like 
They hailed him father to a line of kings. 
Upon my head they plac'd a fruitless crown, 60 

And put a barren sceptre in my gripe. 
Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand. 
No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so. 
For Banquo's issue have I iil'd my mind ; 

ace gate. How far away? Ill, iii, 13. — 48. but=unless [Staunton]? 
To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus (is the thing to be desired) 
[Clark and Wright] ? ... is everything [Moberly] % is something 
[Abbott, 385] ?— iii=about, in the case of [Abbott, 162] ? — 50. ■would= 
should? ought to? would like to? Abbott, 329. See I, v, 20; I, vii, 34. 
—51. to. I, vi, 19; Abbott, 185. — 53. but he=he being excepted? but 
he is (one) ? Abbott, 118. A. S. biutan; be, by; utan, outward, outside; 
butan, by the outside; beyond; except. Sheat. "Hence but means ex- 
cepted ov excepting.''^ Abbott. — 55,56. Genius . . . Caesar. 

Thy demon, that 's the spirit which keeps thee, is 

Noble, courageous, high, unmatchable, 

Where Caesar's is not; but near him, thy angel 

Becomes a fear, as being o'erpower'd. 
Antony and Cleop., II, iii, 20; Shakespeare's conception of guardian or 
attendant spirits may be gathered partly from his 144th Sonnet, which 
closes with the following surprising couplet : 

" Yet this shall I ne'er know, but live in doubt, 
Till my bad angel ^re my good one ouV^ ! 
This idea of a genius or guardian angel, of Antony, fearing the guard- 
ian spirit of Octavius Caesar, is perhaps taken from North's Plutarch (see 
ed. of 1631, p. 926), or from Bacon's Works (see Vol. ii, p. 129, Montagu's 
ed.) See Julius Ccesar, II, i,65.— "Not a presiding spirit, but the higher 
nature of man, the rational, guiding soul or spirit ; which in Macbeth is 
one of guilty ambition. ' ' EdinJyurgh Review, July, 1869.— See the present 
editor's explanation of correspondences between Bacon and Shake- 
speare, in Overland Monthly for September, 1886, page 332.-62. with= 
by? • Abbott, 193. — 63. sou of mine. According to tradition a son of 
Macbeth was slain in his last encounter with Malcolm. French. — I, vii, 
54 ; IV, iii, 216 . — 64. fll'd. A. S. ^j/lan, to make foul, whence fiUh, foul., 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. 119 

For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd ; 65 

Put rancors in the vessel of my peace 

Only for them ; and mine eternal jewel 

Given to the common enemy of man, 

To make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings ! 

Rather than so, come, fate, into the list, 70 

And champion me to the utterance ! — Who 's there ? — 

He-enter Attendant, with tico Murderers. 

Now go to the door, and stay there till we call. — 

[Exit Attendant. 
Was it not yesterday we spoke together ? 
" First Murderer. It was, so please your highness. 
Macbeth. Well — then — now — 

Have you consider'd of my speeches ? Know 75 

That it was he in the times past which held you 
So under fortune, which you thought had been 
Our innocent self. This I made good to you 

dej^Ze, etc. See note on I, i, 12. — 65. gracious in Shakes, usually has in 
it some feeling of divine grace. IV, iii, 43 ; V, viii, 72; Hamlet, I, i, 164. — 
66. rancors. Lat. rancor, sourness, rankness, rancider, rancid, ran- 
cidness; fr. rancere, to stink; Old Fr. rancour, spite. — vessel. See 
" vessels of wrath," "vessels of mercy," Rom. ix, 22, 23 ; "But we have 
this treasure in earthen vessels," 2 Corinth., iv, 7. vessel of my 
peace = soul where peace ought to dwell [Moberly, Meiklejohn, etc.] ? 
hody where peace ought to dwell? — In Othello, IV, ii, 82, as in 2d Cor- 
inthians, vessel certainly means human body : probably also in Julius 
Ccesar, V, v, 13. — Lat. vas, a vase; dim. vasculum, and fub-dim. vascel- 
lum, small vase ; Old Fr. vaissel, later vaisseau. A vessel is properly a dish 
or utensil for holding liquids, etc. — Paradise Lost, ix, 89. — 67. eternal 
= immortal? So in King John, III, iv, 18. — jewel = salvation [Delius] ? 
soul [Clark and Wright]? clear conscience? illumination of the Divine 
Spirit, called a "treasure" in 2 Corin., iv, 4, 6, 7? — 69. seeds (The 
folios have the plural) = f ar extended descents [Elwin] ? "It indi- 
cates an insignificance of individuality [Elwin]? posterity? -j/sa, to 
sow; A. S. saed, seed. — 70. list = space marked out for combat? A. S. 
list, a border; Old H. Ger. lista; Fr. liste, a selvedge, band, strip. 
Elsewhere Shakes, uses list for boundary, ana lists for the space 
marked out. — Richard II, I, ii, 52; I, iii, 32, 38, 43, g. v. — 71. cham- 
pion = fight against (as a champion) ? fight for me? — Lat. campus, a 
field; Low Lat. campus, a duel, combat; Old Fr. champion, one who 
fought in a champ clos, i. e. enclosed field, lists. — to the utterance 
= to the death? Fr. combattre a Vmitrance was used of contests that - 
were not mere trials of skill, but combats with deadly intent. — Lat. 
ultra, Fr. outre, beyond; Eng. utterance, extremity. Cyml)eline, III, i, 
71. — See Scott's description of such combat in Ivanhoe. — 71. mur- 
derers. Professional assassins? — 74. well — then — novr. Note 
this string of introductory words! Is he hesitating, embarrassed? — 
If they were used to murder, would there have been such an argument? 



120 MACBETH. [act m. 

In our last conforonco, pass\i in probation Avith you, T9 
How you were borne in hand, how cross'd, the instruments, 
Who wrought with them, and all things else that might 
To half a soul and to a notion craz'd 
Say "Thus did l>anquo." 

JF'irsf Jlirrdercr. You made it known to us. 

Macbeth. 1 did so, and went further, which is now 
Our point of second meeting. Do you find 85 

Your patience so predominant in your nature 
That you can let this go? Are you so gospell'd 
To pray for this good man and for his issue, 
Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave 
And beggarM yours for ever ? 

Fir^t Murderer. We are men, my liege. 90 

JIacbeth. Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men. 
As liounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, 
Sloughs, water-rugs, and demi-M'olves, are clept 

— 79. eoiiforeiice. Scan the lino. Any need of shortening- the word 
to two syllables^ I, ii, 5, 20; Ahhott, 408. — pass'd in probation 
M'itli — I proved to you in detail, point b.N' point [Clark and Wi-ig-ht] ^ 
spent in proving [Kolfe] { — The word '' pass'd " is used in the same 
sense as in the phrase, "pass in review" [Clark and Wright]; — 
Pass'd = cause to pass? — rrohatioii = proof , m Othello, III, iii, oliS; 
31eas. for Mcas., V, i, 157, etc. — Lat. prohdrc, to prove, test; prohatio; 
Fr. probation, proof. — 80. borne in haud = like pa^parc in Latin, 
cheated, made tools of [Moberly] { kept up Avitli false pretenses 
NNIeiklejohnl •■ delusively encouraged [White] i Seven times in Shakes, 
t^iis phrase (ineludiuii- •"bear" for "borne") is found in this sense. Ham- 
?<fJL ii. 07. —Scan the line. Six feet? Abbott, 468. See III, iv, 2. Make 
a dactyl oi instntmciits? Ill, iv, 87. — 82. notion=understanding [Clark 
and Wright] ' mind [Uolfe, etc.] ? So Lear. I, iv, 218. See Coriolanus, V, 
vi, 107.— 8(). prodoniinant. II, iv, 8. — 87. so g;o8peird=instrncted 
in the precepts of the gospel [Clark and Wright ] ? of that degree of 
precise virtue [Johnson]? governed by gosper precepts [Kolfe]? Im- 
bued with the spirit of the gospel, which bids us pray for our enemies? 
Matt., y, 44. A. S., god, God, and spell, history," story, narrative. 
Thus the literal sense is the *-uarrative of Cod," )". e., the life of Christ. 
Sheat. — Note how profoundly Shakes, recognizes one of the most dis- 
tinctive features of Christianity. —88. Word omitted ? II, iii, 32. Ab- 
bott, 281. — 92. nionii'rels (Old A. S. ma)ujia)i, A. S. mcugau, to mingle; 
mi})uj-er-el (do\;ble diminutive), orig. little puppies of mixed breed? 
— 98. sbou_i;iis=shocks? pronounced 8?) o/i>\ A. S. j*t't-ac(/(7, sliagpy hair. 
The orig. sense is roughness. SAca^ In Pope's Hapc of the ^Lock the 
dog is called '* shock." and the name isi]uite common. Masterpieces, p. 
140. — Avator rui;-s=: poodles [Schmidt]? The orig. st^nse of Swedish 
rmig, rough entangled hair, was doubtless simply "Vough," akintoA.S.' 
?'!(,') and Eng. ?-(>(/(7//. 8A(af. A nui is n rougli woolen covering; rugged 
= rough, shaggy. — dcnii-Avolvcs, a cross between dogs and wolves; 
like the Latin hieisei. Johnson. — Lat. (?i/)iit?f«8, half ; d/ or J k^, apart; 
■mcdius, middle; Old Fr. demi, half. Nothing to do with semi, uov he w.if 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. 131 

All by the name of dogs : the valued file 

Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle, 95 

The housekeeper, the hunter, every one 

According to the gift which bounteous nature 

Hath in him clos'd ; whereby he does receive 

Particular addition, from the bill 

That writes them all alike : and so of men. 100 

Now if you have a station in the file. 

Not i' the worst rank of manhood, say 't, 

And I will put that business in your bosoms, 

Whose execution takes your enemy off. 

Grapples you to the heart and love of us, 105 

Who wear our health but sickly in his life. 

Which in his death were perfect 

Second Murderer. I am one, my liege, 

Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world 
Have so incens'd that I am reckless what 
I do to spite the world. 

First Murderer. And I another 110 

So weary with disasters, tugg'd with fortune, 
That I would set my life on any chance. 
To mend it or be rid on 't. 

Macbeth. Both of you 

Know Banquo was your enemy. 

— clept. Yclept is sometimes used. A. S. clepan, clespian, to call. 
Hamlet, I, iv, 19.— 94. valued file = tariff with names and values at- 
tached [Moberly] 1 classification according to value or quality [Rolf e] 1 
price-list? — 96. housekeeper. "In Topsell's History o/ Beasts (1638) 
the 'housekeeper' is enumerated among the different kinds of dogs." 
Clark and Wright.— 98. hath=:possesses? or — ? clos'd.=:it being in- 
closed? or — 1—99. addition. I, iii, 106. — froin=apart from [Rolfe] 'i 
quite different from [MeiklejohnJ ? — "More natural to connect 'from' 
with particular than with distinguishes." Clark and Wright. Ill, iv, 
36; Julius Ccesar, I, iii, 35. — the bill, etc.=the catalogue? Line 91. — 
103. worst. Quasi-dissy liable? "Monosyllables containing a vowel fol- 
lowed by r are often prolonged." Ahbott, 485. — worst rank=vea.r rank, 
•Meaning of our phrase " rank and file" ? — 105. grapples. Old Fr. 
grappe, a hook; Pr. grappin, a grappling-iron, grapnel. Skeat. Grasp, 
grip., grab, grapnel., gripe., are kindred. |/garbh, to seize. — Hamlet., I, iii, 
63; Henry F, III, prol. 18.— 106. in = in the case of, about [Abbott]? 
during? Ahhott., 162; III, i, 48. — 107. Scan. As to metre, is anything 
more than five accented syllables really necessary? — Abbott., 497 : I, ii, 
5, T, 20, etc. — 111. tugg'd. Low Ger, tukken, to pull up; akin to Ger. 
zucken, to draw; zwg, a pull. B^*' a subtle analogy the energy required 
in enunciating the gutteral g has made this word very significant of forc- 
ible effort? — Differentiate these two murderers. What is each one's 
prevailing mood ? — 113. on 't. Line 130; I, iii, 84.— 115. distance=en- 



122 MACBETH. [act hi. 

Soth Murderers. True, my lord. 

Macbeth. So is lie mine, in such bloody distance 115 
That every minute of his being thrusts 
Against my near'st of life : and though I could 
With barefac'd power sweep him from my sight 
And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, 
For certain friends that are both his and mine, 120 

Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall 
Who I myself struck down : and thence it is, 
That I to your assistance do make love, 
Masking the business from the common eye 
For sundry weighty reasons. 

Second Murderer. We shall, my lord, 125 

Perform what you command us. 

First Murderer. Though our lives — 

Macbeth. Your spirits shine through you. Within this 
hour at most 
I will advise you where to plant yourselves, 
Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' the time. 



mity [Warburton] ? opposition [Moberly] ? degree or measure [Hud- 
son]? " A fencing term, denoting the space between antagonists." 
Dyce. Merry Wives. II, i, 201, iii, 23; Rom. and Jul.., II, iv., 20. Lat. dis., 
apart; stare., to stand. So Achilles and Agamemnon stood apart in 
quarrel, Iliad., I, 6. — 117. near'st of life = inmost life [Rolf e] ? most 
vital parts [Clark and Wright] ? See V, ii, 11. —Afthott., 473, makes 
nearest a monosyl. here, and in the folios it is printed neer^st. — 119. 
avouch it=own, answer for it (as an arbitrary act) [Rolf e] ? make 
good, maintain [Skeat] ? be accepted as the justification of the deed 
[Clark and Wright] 1 — Lat. ad, to ; vocdre, to call ; Old Fr advouer, to 
avouch; Fr. avoiter, to avow. — See III, iv, 34. — 130. for. The orig. 
sense is "beyond" ; then, "7>e/o?^e" ; lastly, "in placeof" ; from same root 
as far, fore, and fare. A. S., for, fore; akin to Lat. pro, Gr. irpo, Sanscrit 
pra, before. Skeat. "For, from meaning 'in front of, came naturally 
to mean 'in behalf of, ' for the sake of , 'becauseof ." Abbott, 150. — 
121. loves. Sotheplu. in revenges V. ii, 3; viii, 61. Coriolanus, 111, 
iii, 121; Hamlet, 1, i, 173, I, ii, 251. So wisdoms, Hamlet, I, ii, 15; sights, 
Richard II, IV, i, 314. — iiiay=must? perhaps shall? Abbott, 310. — but 
(I must) w^ail. Abbott, 385. — 122. Avho "in Shakespeare's time was 
frequently used for the objective cas3." Clarke and W7'ight. Hamlet, I, 
ii, 190. Macbeth, III, iv, 42; IV, iii, 171; Abbott, 274. — 127. shine 
through. See I, ii, 46; Hamlet, III, iv, 117. — 128. advise=inform? 
counsel, recommend to? Lat. ad, to, according to; visum, tha-t which 
has seemed best; pp. neuter of videre, to see; Old Fr. avis, opinion, way 
of seeing a thing. Brachet and Skeat. Fr. aviser, to apprise. In Lear, 
I, iii, 24; Two Gent, of Verona, III, i, 122, and elsewhere, we have "ad- 
vise" in the sense of "instruct." — 129. perfect spy=;perfect espial or 
discovery, the exact intimation (of the precise time) [Heath] ? the ex- 
act means of espying (your time) [Fleay] i infallible discovery by se- 
cret and cunning examination [Elwiu] ? either ''the result, of the most 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. 123 

The moment on 't ; for 't must be done to-night, 130 

And something from the palace ; always thought 

That I require a clearness : and with him — 

To leave no rubs nor botches in the work — 

Fleance his son, that keeps him company, 

Whose absence is no less material to me 135 

Than is his father's, must embrace the fate 

Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart : 

I '11 come to you anon. 

Both Murderers. We are resolv'd, my lord. 

Macbeth. I '11 calLupon you straight : abide within. 

[^Exeunt Murderers. 
It is concluded : Banquo, thy soul's flight, 140 

If it find heaven, must find it out to-night. [Exit. 



accurate observation", or " the man who joins the murders in scene iii 
and delivers their offices" [Clark and Wright] ? an exact and sure note 
or signal [Hudson] ? Many emendations have been proposed, of which 
perhaps the most plausible is that in Mr. Collier's folio of 1632, first 
suggested by Dr. Johnson, and adopted by White, substituting "a per- 
fect" for "t/ie perfect," and explaining it to mean the third murderer 
in Scene iii. If we allow the folio text to stand, perhaps we shall do 
well to extend the force of the word where to the word acquamt; thus r 
"I will advise you where to plant yourselves, and where to acquaint 
yourselves," etc. — j/'spak, to see; Gr. tr/ceVTOjaat, skeptomai; Lat. specere, 
to see; Old Fr. espier, to espy — 130. on 't. The time? or the deedf — 131. 
something from := somewhat away from ? at some distance away 
from [Rolfe] ? Abbott, 68, 158. — always thought = it being always 
borne in mind? Abbott, 378. — 131. clearness, from suspicion? and also 
completeness as regards the work done [Elwin] ? — 133. rubs were 
impediments that might turn a ball from its course in bowling. King 
John, III, iv, 128; Henry F, II, ii, 188; Coriol., Ill, i, 60; Richard II, III, 
iv, 4. — Gaelic r-M&, to rub; Irish and Gael, rubadh, a rubbing. — 136. 
embrace. Metaphor? Schmidt defines it undergo, suffer! — Old Pr. 
embracer. Old Pr. em; Lat. in, in; Old Pr. ibra^; Lat. brachium, arm. — 
137. Resolve yourselves =make up your minds? form your resolu- 
tions. — Lat. resolvere, to unite; re, again, and soluerc to loosen ; se-, apart; 
lucre, Gr. Avclv, luein, to loose, set free; Eng. resolve,, to separate into 
constituent parts ; to free from doubt.- -38. This is an apparent Alex- 
andrine; but, by slighting unemphatic syllables, may it be made a pen- 
tameter? Abbott, 497. — 139. straight. Obsolete in this sense? — 140, 
141. Effect of rhyme at the end of a scene? — " Such negotiations 
with assassins were not uncommon in the age of Elizabeth." A noted 
instance, which must have been vivid in Shakespeare's memory, was 
that in which Lodowick Grevile, whose family were patrons of the liv- 
ing of Stratford, hired two servants to murder his tenant in 1589. See 
Rolfe, Hunter or Furness. — Note the ingenuity with which Macbeth 
works upon the feelings of the murderers, before he comes to the pro- 
posal of the plot. 



\ 



124 MACBETH. [act hi. 

Scene II. The Same. Another JRoom. 
Enter Lady Macbeth and a Servant. 

Lady Macbeth. Is Banquo gone from court? 

Servant. Ay, madam, but returns again to-night. 

Lady Macbeth. Say to the king, I would attend his leisure 
-For a few words. 

Servant. Madam, I will. Exit. 

Lady Macbeth. Nought 's had, all 's spent. 

Where our desire is got without content : 5 

'T is safer to be that which we destroy 
Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. 

Enter Macbeth. 

How now, my lord ! why do you keep alone, 

Of sorriest fancies your companions making, 

Using those thoughts which should indeed have died 10 

With them they think on ? Things without all remedy 

Should be without regard : what 's done is done. 

Macbeth. We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it : 
She '11 close and be herself, whilst our poor malice 

Scene II. — returns again, like '"'• ro?,t again'''' (from the dead), in 
the Nicene creed, was not objectionable phraseology. How is it now? 
5. attend = ready for? wait for? wait upon him when he is at? — 5. 
without content. " This brief soliloquy allows us to see the deep- 
seated misery, the profound melancholy in which she is steeped ; while 
on the instant that she sees her husband, she can rally her forces, as- 
sume exterior fortitude, and resume her accustomed hardness of 
manner." Clarke. " This profound sig-h from the depths of a deeply 
wounded soul is the key to all that we afterwards hear and learn of Lady 
Macbeth. . . . Here, for an instant, we overhear her, and from her 
own lips learn what her pride, her love for Macbeth even, will not 
suffer to be uttered aloud. . . . This short monologue is the sole 
preparation for the sleep-walking and the death of the woman ; her 
death would be unintelligible did we not here see the beginning of the 
end." Gericke, in Furness. — Strutt would assign these four lines, 4 to 
7, to Macbeth. Judiciously? — Is their " querulous spirit more in char- 
acter with Macbeth"?— 9. sorriest, II, ii, 20. — using = cherishing 
[Rolfe] ? keeping company with [Clark and Wright] ?— Gr. xPW^<^h 
chresthai, and Lat. uti, to use, have similar meanings. — Pericles, I, ii, 
3. — 11. without =beyond? destitute of ?— all =any? — In Mid. NighVs 
Dr., I, i, 150, "without the peril of the Athenian law" is beyond the 
peril, etc. Henry VIII, IV, i, 113. Sonnet Ixxiv, 2. —Abbott, 12, 197. — 
remedy. Unaccented syllables ignored? Abbott, 4&S; HI, i, 107. — 13. 
scotch'd. The folios have scorched, and this would afford a good 
meaning, but for the word close in the next line. To scotch means to 
cut with narrow incision. The notion is taken from the slight cut in- 



SCENE II.] MACBETH. 125 

Remains in danger of her former tooth. 15^ 

But let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer, 

Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep 

In the affliction of these terrible dreams 

That shake us nightly ; better be with the dead. 

Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, 20 

Than on the torture of the mind to lie 

In restless ecstacy. Duncan is in his grave ; 

After life's fitful fever he sleeps well ; 

Treason has done his worst ; nor steel, nor poison, 

Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing, 25^ 

Can touch him further. — ^ 

Lady Macbeth. Come on ; 

Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks ; 
Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night. 

Macbeth. So shall I, love ; and so, I pray, be you : 

flicted by a scutcher or riding- whip. Akin to provincial Eng. scutcTi, to 
strike or beat slightly, to cleanse flax. So in Coriolanus^ IV, v, 188 ; 
Anton, and Cleop., IV, vii, 10. Skeat. —"The easiest of misprints (chang- 
ing t to r) on account of the resemblance between r and t in old manu- 
script." White. — Upton, who retains scorched, says, "This learned and 
elegant allusion is to the story of the Hydra." But the scorching of the 
Hydra was effectual, while the cutting off was a failure ! See Class. 
Diet. — Theobald, who first changed scorched to scotched, thinks Shakes, 
had in mind the old belief that a serpent cut asunder would grow to- 
gether again if the parts were placed in contact. — 15. her. So the 
snake is fern, in Mid. NighVs Dr.., II, i, 252. — 16. frame of things, the 
orderly universe, the "cosmos." Hamlet, II, ii, 294; Par. Lost, V, 154; 
viii, 15. — both the ivorlds = heaven and earth. So Moberly, who, 
however, adds, "The meaning is shown by Hamlet, Act IV, v, 116, 'both 
the worlds I give to negligence' " ; but the commentators agree that in 
Hamtet the meaning is tMs v;orZd and the next. — dreams. "The sleep- 
walking scene, V, i, was doubtless in the poet's mind already." Clark 
and Wright.— 20. to gain our peace. So the first folio, which has- 
been followed by about half the commentators. The others adopt the 
word place, the reading of the later folios. Much may be said in favor 
of either reading. Your view ? — Keightly prosily suggests seat; Bailey 
distressingly, pangs.' — 21. torture=therack? — Metonymy? — 22. ecs- 
tasy (Gr. eKo-Ttto-ts, ecstasis ; e<c, out, o-Tao-t? standing; placing, t/sta, 
to stand), trance, distraction; state of being "ibeside one's se7/" ; condi- 
tion of one ^'■out of his head,''"' whether from joy or sorrow; alienation of 
mind; being "owt of one'' s senses''"' from any cause. — IV, iii, 170; Hamlet, 
II, i, 102; III, i, 160; iv, 136; Tempest, III, iii, 108.— 23. fitful. Propri- 
ety of this term ? Note the effect of the repetition of the / sound in 5 
syllables preceding the v! — Meas. for Meas., Ill, i, 75. — 26. touch. A 
touch in old language was often used to express a pang or wound. 
Staunton. — 27. Gentle my lord, "So Shakes, has dear my Zord, dear 
my brother, dread my lord, good my knave, good my girl, good my fellows, 
good my friend, good my mother, good my mouse, poor our sex, sweet my 
child, good your graces, and even good my complexion, etc. So, "Art thou 



126 MACBETH. [act in. 

Let your remembrance apply to Banqiio ; 30 

Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue : 

Unsafe the while, that we 

Must lave our honors in these flattering streams, 

And make our faces visards to our hearts, 

Disguising what they are. 

Lady Macbeth. You must leave this. 35 

Macbeth. O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! 
Thou know'st thatBanquo, and his Fleance, lives. 

Lady Macbeth. But in them nature's copy 's not eterne. 

Macbeth. There 's comfort yet ; they are assailable ; 
Then be thou jocund. Ere the bat hath flown 40 

His cloister'd flight, ere to black Hecate's summons 
The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums 
Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done 

that mi/ Zord Elijah?" J BTlngs, xviii, 7. ^&ftoft, 13.— sleek. Milton's 
Comus, 882, has "Sleeking her soft, alluring locks." — Icel. slikr^ sleek, 
smooth; akin to Ger. schlick, grease, slime, mud; and to Eng. sli'iih, 
filide, slip; from \/ sar, to flow, glide. The orig. sense of sleek is 
"greasy," like soft mud. Skeat. — Usually an adjective and spoken of 
the hair. — 30. reiiiembrance. Quadrisyllable here? Abbott, 477. — 
apply=attach itself, be specially devoted [Clark and Wright] ? devote 
itself [Schmidt] ? - - Lat. ad, to ; plicare, to fold or lay together ; Gr. 
TrAe'/cetv, plekein, to plait ; Lat. applicdre, to join to, attach ; turn or direct 
towards. Skeat. — Antony and Cleop., V, ii, 126. — 31. Present him, 
etc. " Is this a piece of irony? or is it meant as a blind, to keep his 
wife ignorant and innocent of the new crime on foot?" Hudson. —32. 
Unsafe the ivhile that = we being meanwhile unsafe, since? the 
time being unsafe in which? Abbott, 284; III, i, 43. — 34. visards (Fr. 
"msiere, the vrser or sight of a helmet." Cotgrave. From Fr. vis, the 
face, and so called from its protecting the face. In the same way the 
"vizard" was named from its covering the face. Lat. videre, to see; 
visus, sight. Skeat.) masks? — 35. leave, off? So in Ric/iard IJ, V, ii, 4, 
"Where did Heave?"— Verbal play with lave? — 36. full of scorpions. 
Note vividness ! — 37. lives. See runs, I, iii, 147. Abbott, 33Q. — 38. na- 
ture's copy = the human form [Steevens, M. Mason, Elwin] ? the 
stamp of life [Moberly] ? the deed by which man holds life of Nature 
[Clark and Wright, Rolfe, etc.] ? Copyhold tenure is by virtue of the 
copy of the court-rolls. Othello, V, ii, 11. ' "Thou cunning'st pattern of 
excelling nature," favors the first explanation; "bond," in line 49, fa- 
vors the last. — Judge! — Shakes, is fond of law terms, as in Sonnet xiii, 
5, and Macbeth, TV, i, 99. — Of line 38 Morley asks, "Is this a note of ac- 
cord with his design ?r It may be but a weary commonplace of conso- 
lation." — 41. cloister'd. "The bats wheeling round the dim cloisters 
of Queen's College, Cambridge, have frequently impressed on me the 
singular propriety of this original epithet." Steevens. — 42. shard- 
borne = borne along by its shard or scaly wings [Steevens] ? Shard is 
literally "a broken thing," fr. A.S. sceard, adj., broken ; sceran, to shear; 
allied to shred. Skeat. "The shell of an egg or a snail." Baret, 1580. 
— Two folios have -born for -borne. Meaning then ? — Gray, in his Elegy, 



SCENE II.] MACBETH. 127 

A deed of dreadful note. 

JLady Macbeth. What 's to be done ? 44 

Macbeth. Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, 

Till thou applaud the deed.-L.Come, seeling night, 

Scarf up the tender eye of j)itiful day. 

And with thy bloody and invisible hand 

Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond 

Which keeps me pale I^Light thickens, and the crow 50 

Makes wing to the rooky wood : 

Good things of day begin to droop and drowse. 

Whiles night's black agents to their preys do rouse. 

Thou marvell'st at my words ; but hold thee still : 

Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill. 55 

So, prithee, go with me. \_Exeunt. 

stanza 2, has this passage in mind? — 44. note=distinction [Schmidt] ? 
notoriety [Clark and Wright] ? mark or brand? sound? — -'•Knote, is 'a 
mark whereby a thing is known. ' Lat. nota^ a mark, sign; (g)nos- 
cere, to know; {g)notus, known." — 45. chuck, a variation of the 
word chicken; A. S. cicen, a chicken; dim. fr. A. S. cocc, a cock (like 
kitten ior cat) . Skeat. An imitative word? Hiecke, quoted by Furness 
and Rolfe, comments with feeling and insight on the glimpses of sen- 
timent, character, and past life, which we gain from the terms of en- 
dearment in this scene. What may we fairly infer from them? — 46. 
seeling = blinding] ? — Lat. cilium, eyelid, eyelash. Prom -\/ kal, to 
hide, as in Lat. cel-dre. Old Fr. ciller les yeux, to seel, or sew up, the 
eyelids by passing a fine thread through them ; to blind. In falconry. — 
Othello^ I, iii, 268; III, iii, 210; Anton. andCleop., Ill, xiii, 112. — 49. bond 
=Banquo's life [Hudson] ? either Banquo'slife, or the bond of destiny 
announced by tbe weird sisters [Moberly] ? — See line 38, supra. If 
Ban quo holds his life by virtue of a bond, who is obligor? Cymheline, 
V, iv, 28; Richard III, IV, iv, 77. — Hudson substitutes paled, meaning 
shut in or confined with palings ! In confirmation he quotes III, iv, 24. 
— 50. thickens. In Antony and Cleop., II, iii, 28, we have, " Tliy lus- 
tre thickens." — 51. rooky=misty, gloomy [Clark and Wright, etc.] ? 
rook-haunted [Rolfe, Hudson, etc.]? — Rook, meaning a kind of crow, 
is of imitative origin, like croak. From A. S. hroc. The word means 
croaker! But many scholars prefer to derive it from the provincial 
word roke, meaning fog, mist, or steam ; from A. S. rec, vapor ; Dutch 
7-ook; Ger. ranch, smoke, fume; Icel. rokr, twilight. See I, v, 37. — 
52. good things, etc. "We may repeat to ourselves this line as a 
motto of the whole tragedy." Dowden. — 53. whiles, I, v, 5; II, i, 60; 
III, i. 43. — agents. A covert allusion to the murderers [Hudson] ? - 
preys. For plu. see III, i, 121 ; V, viii, 61. — 54, .55. "This couplet reads 
like an interpolation. It interrupts the sense" [Clark and Wright] ? 
56. gOAvith nie=aid me? understand my meaning [Moberly]? let me 
quietly carry out my plan [Delius] ? — Must we look beyond the obvious 
meaning? — "And so they go to the coronation feast," says Moberly. 
But was it the coronation feast? How long since the murder? — To 
what questions does this scene give rise? or give answer? 



128 MACBETH. [act in. 

Scene III. A Park near the Palace. 
Enter three Murderers. 

First Murderer. But who did bid thee join with us ? 

Third Murder^er. Macbeth. 

Second Murderer. He needs not our mistrust, since he 
delivers 
Our offices and what we have to do 
To the direction just. 

First Murderer. Then stand with us. 

The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day: 5 

Now spurs the lated traveller apace 
To gain the timely inn, and near approaches 
The subject of our watch. 

Third Murderer. Hark ! I hear horses. 

Banqtio. [ Within. ] Give us a light there, ho ! 

Second Murderer. Then 't is he : the rest 

That are within the note of expectation 10 

Already are i' the court. 

First Murderer. His horses go about. 

Third Murderer. Almost a mile ; but he does usually, 
So all men do, from hence to the palace gate 
Make it their walk. 

Second Murderer. A light, a light ! 

Scene III. — 1. But implies a previous matter discoursed of [CapellJ ? 
— needs not, etc. = we may trust him [Moberly] ? — Abbott, 308. — It 
has been strongly argued by Mr. A. P. Paton that Macbeth himself 
was the third murderer. He urges the following considerations: 
Macbeth' s late entry into the banquet hall; the almost simultaneous 
appearance of the murderer; his unwillingness to let the plot mis- 
carry ; the third murderer, if not Macbeth, should have been the one 
to bring tidings to him; the superfluous savagery of the twenty mortal 
murders on Banquo'shead ; the familiarity of the third murderer with 
Macbeth' s designs, etc. ; Macbeth' s levity in conversation with the 
murderer at the banquet ; Macbeth' s question, as if to avert suspicion 
from himself, "Which of you have done this?" and, "He says, in ef- 
fect, to the ghost, ' In yon black struggle you could never know me.' " 
Test this view. See Furness, Hudson, and Notes and Queries, Sept. 11 ; 
Oct. 2, 30; Nov. 13; Dec. 4, 1869. — 4. to. Abbott, 1S7. —Q. lated. 
Anton, and Cleop., HI, xi, 3. — Abbott, 460, gives a long list of prefixes 
dropped in Shakes. — 7. timely = welcome ? opportune [Clark and 
Wright] 1 early, soon attained [Schmidt] ? — 10. note of expecta- 
tion = list of expected guests [Steevens] ? Wi7it6r''s Tale, IV, iii, 44; 
Bom. and Jul., T, ii, 34. — 11. horses. " Shakes, did not dare to bring 
upon the stage a horse"! Horn, But perhaps it wasn't convenient! 



SCENE lY.] MACBETH. 129 

Enter Banquo, and Fleance with a Torch. 

Third Murderer. 'T is he. 15 

First Murderer. Stand to 't. 

JBanquo. It will be rain to-night.' 

First Murderer. Let it come down. 

[ They set upon Banquo. 

JBanquo. O, treachery ! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly ! 
Thou may'st revenge. — O slave ! \^Dies. Fleance escapes. 

Third Murderer. Who did strike out the light? 

First Murderer. Was 't not the way ? 

Tliird Murderer. There 's but one dowai ; the son is fled. 

Second Murderer. We have lost 

Best half of our affair. 21 

First Murderer. Well, let 's away and say how much is 
done. [Fxeunt. 

Scene IV. Hall in the Palace. 

A Banquet prepared. Enter Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, 
Ross, Lennox, Lords, a7id Attendants. 

Macbeth. You know your own degrees ; sit down : at first 
And last the hearty welcome. 

Lords. Thanks to your majesty. 

Macbeth. Ourself will mingle with society 
And play the humble host. 
Our hostess keeps her state, but in best time 5 

— 14. Fleance with a torch. See stage direction, II, i. — 16. rain. 

Note how ingeniously Shakes . brings in the dark and threatening as- 
pect of nature! How skilfully, too, the words, "Let it come down," 
doubly apply to rain and a sbower of blows on Banquo's head! — 18. 
Fleance fled to Wales, and became the progenitor of James I, "in 
compliment to whom," says Malone, "Shakes, describes Banquo as 
innocent, though equally guilty with Macbeth." — What need of this 
scene? What need of Banquo's death before our eyes? Dramatic ef- 
fect of adding a third murderer? Does it reveal Macbeth' s state of 
mind? 

Scene IV. — 1. degrees. French degrr^, from a supposed degfradu-s ; Lat. 
de, down ; gradus, a step, grade, rank ; gradU to step. — at first and last 
= once for all [Rolfe] ? from beginning to end [Schmidt] ? to highest and 
lowest? — Johnson would read. To ^rst, etc. — 2. your majesty. Maj- 
esty in such phrases is usually a dissyl. Walker. Ahhott, '^Q$> . Make 
out the five accented syllables. Will that suffice? See I, ii, 5; III, i, 
80; iv, 37.— 3. Ourself. Ill, i, 42.— 5. state=chair of stated keeps 
her state=is still on the dais [Moberly] ? "The 'state' was originally 
the 'canopy,' then the chair with the canopy over it." Twelfth Night, 



130 MACBETH. [act iii. 

We will require lier welcome. 

Lady Macbeth. Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our friends ; 
For my heart speaks they are welcome. 

First Murderer appears at the door. 

Macbeth. See, they encounter thee with their hearts' 
thanks. — 
Both sides are even: here I '11 sit i' the midst. 10 

Be large in mirth ; anon we '11 drink a measure 
The table round. — [Approaching the door.] There 's blood 
upon thy face. 

Murderer. 'T is Banquo's then. 

Macbeth. 'T is better thee without than he within. 
Is he dispatch'd ? 15 

Murderer. My lord, his throat is cut ; that I did for him. 

Macbeth. Thou art the best o' the cut-throats : yet he 's 
good 
That did the like for Fleance : if thou didst it, 
Thou art the nonpareil. 

Murderer. Most royal sir, 

11, V, 42; i Henry IV, II, iv, 349, "This chair shall be my state." Old 
Fr. estat, estate; Lat. statum, to stand. Prom ^/sta, stand. — 6. re- 
quire=ask. Not demand. Henry VIII, II, iv, 144, "In humblest man- 
ner I require your highness." Ant. and Cleop., Ill, xii, 12. — 8. speaks 
=says? See spoken, IV, iii, 154. — Real difference between these syno- 
nyms? — Abhott, 200. — 10. Both sides = both sides of the table [Dar- 
mesteter] ? both parties, she in her welcome, they in their thanks? — 
Was it worth while for him to say that the guests on one side match in 
numbers those on the other? — here I'll sit. Make a diagram showing 
the table, his position, that of Lady Macbeth, and that of the ghost 
when it appears. — 11. large. Anton, and Cleop., Ill, vi, 93, — aaon. 
A. S. on, an, in one moment, once for all ; on, in ; an, one . The a is 
convertible with o in either syl. — He wishes first to speak with the 
murderer, of whom he has caught sight at the door? — measure. 
Lat. metiri, to measure; mensura, Pr. mesure, a measure. How much? 
— 12. "An unavenged blood-clot is conspicuous on thy brow." Aeschy- 
lus' Ayamemnon, line 1429. — 14. thee without than he Avithin=out- 
side thee than inside him [Johnson, Rolfe, etc.j? blood on thy face 
than he in this room [Johnson's suggestion] ? you just outside the door 
than he within the room [Darmesteter] ? So Huntet, who thinks the 
line is an aside. — Is there not a tone of reproof in the words, as if the 
murderer had intruded? Suppose we read between the lines to the 
following effect: "There's blood upon thy face, thou oughtest not to 
be here." By way of excuse, and to conciliate the impatient king, he 
replies, " 'Tis Banquo's, then." Macbeth, still vexed at the intrusion, 
rejoins, " 'Tis better for thee to be without, attending to Banquo, than 
for him to be within; for, if wounded, he may come in soon ; or, if dead, 
his body may he brought in" .' — 19. nonpareil. Lat. non, not ; par, equal ; 



SCENE I V.J MACBETH. 131 

Fleance is scap'd. 20 

Macbeth. [Aside.] Then comes my fit again : I had else 
been perfect, 
Whole as the marble, founded as the rock, 
As broad and general as the casing air ; 
But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confin'd, bound in 
To saucy doubts and fears. — But Banquo 's safe ? 25 

Murderer. Ay, my good lord : safe in a ditch he bides. 
With twenty trenched gashes on his head. 
The least a death to nature. 

Macbeth. Thanks for that. 

[Aside.] There the grown serpent lies; the worm that 's fled 
Hath nature that in time will venom breed, 30 

No teeth for the present.— Get thee gone : to-morrow 
We '11 hear ourselves again. [Exit Murderer. 

Lady Macbeth. My royal lord. 

You do not give the cheer ; the feast is sold 

Low Lat. pariculus, like, similar ; suffixes -ic- and -ul- being both diminu- 
tive. Skeat. — 20. scap'd. Scape is a mutilated form of escaj^e. Lat. x, 
out of; cappa, cloak, or cape of a cloak. Old Fr. escaper, Mod. Fr. 
echapper, to get out of the cape (of the cloak) , to flee, escape. A parallel 
metaphor exists in Gr. eKSvea-^ai, ekduesthai [Liddell and Scott speak 
of the 2d aorist in the sense of escape] . Bracket, and Skcat. — Shakes, 
uses the shortened form more than the other. — 23. casing=encasing? 
Lat. capere, to take, contain, hold; capsa, receptacle, box; Old Fr. 
cfisse, a case, chest; Fr. caisse, a box. — 24. eabiii'd, cribb'd, con- 
fin'd, etc. Expressive effect of these accumulated synonyms? Climax 
here? — Welsh caban, booth, dimin. of cab, a booth made with rods set 
into the ground and tied at the top; Gaelic and Irish cahan. Skeat. 
Most Celtic words tell of humble life? — A. S. crib, a manger. Akin to 
Fr. creche; Ger. krippe, a crib, manger. Eng. crib, a manger, rack, 
stall, cradle. Verb c7-ib, to put into a crib. In cribbage, the crib is the 
secret store of cards. Skeat. — 25. saucy=importunate, insolent [Clark 
and Wright, Moberly, etc.] ? unbounded, extravagant [Schmidt] ? — 
doiibts and fears. These are his fellow-prisoners [Delius] ? Most 
critics seem to think them his jailors ! " Macbeth is like a royal pris- 
oner bated by insolent and pertinacious crowds " [Meiklejohn] ? How 
shall we decide this? — saucy (Lat. salsa, a salted thing; saUre, to salt; 
sal, salt; Fr. sauce, a seasoning of salt and spices), pungent (impu- 
dent). Brachct, Skeat. — Othello, I, i, 118; Julius Ccesar, I, i, 19; iii, 12. 
— 25. safe. Grim levity [Clarke]? Webster (Unabridged Diet.) de- 
fines it here, "incapable of receiving or doing harm. In secure care 
or custody." — bides. A. S. bidan, to await, wait. — 27. trenched. 
Fr. trancher, to cut, hack. Origin uncertain. Littre prefers Lat. truu- 
cdre, to cut off, reduce to a trunk; truncus, a trunk, stock — Two Gent, 
of Ver., Ill, ii, 7. — 28. nature. II, ii, 7. — 29. -worm^sei-pent, in Eliz- 
abethan writei's? In Anton, and Cleop., V, ii, 243, 256, etc., designating 
a small serpent. — 32. ourselves=each other [Schmidt] ? Some put a 
comma after hear, and make the ourselves again mean being ourselves 
again, i. e., when I have recovered from "my fit." Plausible?— 33. the 



132 MACBETH. [act in. 

That is not often vouch'd, while 't is a-making, 

'T is given with welcome : to feed were best at home ; 35 

From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony ; 

Meeting were bare without it. 

[ 77^6 Ghost of Banquo enters and sits m MacbethJs place.^ 

Macbeth. Sweet remembrancer ! 

Now good digestion wait on appetite, 
And health on both ! 

Lennox. May 't please your highness sit. 

Macbeth. Here had we now our country's honor roof'd, 
Were the grac'd person of our Banquo present ; 41 

Who may I rather challenge for unkindness 
Than pity for mischance ! 

Ross. His absence, sir. 

Lays blame upon his promise. Please 't your highness 
To grace us with your royal company. 45 

Macbeth. The table 's full. 

cheer=the usual welcome [Clark and Wright] ? the merry dispositiou 
which should attend a feast [Schmidt] '\ the proper encouragement to 
your guests [Moberly] ? —Choose ! — sold. As if it were a mere matter 
of sale, without sentiment? — 34. vouch'd, warranted, attested, strong- 
ly affirmed? Lat. vocare, to call; Old Fr, voucher, "to vouch, cite, pray 
in aid, or call unto aid, in a suit." Cotgrave. See III, i, 119. — a-mak- 
ing. The prefix (.1 has at least 13 different values in English. Skeat; 
who illustrates them. In this case a is short for a?i, Mid. Eng. form 
of on, as "David . , . fell on sleep." Acts, xiii, 36; Abhott, 24, 140. 
— 35. To feed=mere feeding [Clark and Wright] ? — 36. from, as in 
III, i, 99, 131? Ahhott, 15S.—3Q. thence. Whatellipsishere?— Is "from 
thence" allowable now? — 37. meeting. Clark and Wright, Rolfe, 
etc., say that there is no pun here, as meat was pronounced mate in 
Shakespeare's time.* But White, Vol. XII, pp. 418,419, says that " ea 
had in many cases the sound which it has at the present day." How 
was ee in "meeting" pronounced? — remembrancer=Lady Macbeth? 
what she had just said? — "A remembrancer was an officer attached to 
a court to remind the king of the names, etc., of his guests." Meikle- 
john. — Scan line 37. May "remembrancer" be a dactyl? Abbott, 494. 
See III, i, 80; and see note on line 2 above. — At this point, according to 
the folios, '■'■Enter the Ghost of Banquo, and sits in Macbeth'' s place.'' ^ Most 
editors put this stage direction two lines later, after highness sit. Bet- 
ter? — 38. Personification? "A somewhat physiological grace" ! Buck- 
nill. — So Henry VIII, I, iv, 92.-39. please .... sit: to is in- 
serted in line 45. Present usage? Abbott, M9.— 40. roof d.. Present 
meaning not in Shakes. Rolfe.— 41. grac'd=full of graces? gracious ? 
favored? honored? Lear, 1, iv, 236.-42. Who. Ill, i, 122. Note the 
neatness of this wish of Macbeth, the perfection of compliment ! and 
so the felicity of language everywhere in Shakespeare? — 46. The ta- 

* White illustrates this Elizabethan pronunciation by the following from 
Hamlet, I, ii, 150, 151 : 

" a baste (beast) that wants discoorse (discourse) of rayson (reason) 

Wou I d haive (have) moorned (mourned) longer '' I 



SCENE IV.] MACBETH. 133 

Lennox. Here is a place reserv'd, sir. 

Macbeth. Where ? 

Lennox. Here, my good lord. What is 't that moves 
your highness ? 

Macbeth. Which of you have done this ? 

Lords. What, my good lord ? 

Macbeth. Thou canst not say I did it : never shake 50 
Thy gory locks at me. 

Jioss. Gentlemen, rise : his highness is not well. 

Lady Macbeth. Sit, worthy friends, my lord is often 
thus, 
And hath been from his youth : pray you, keep seat ; 
The fit is momentary ; upon a thought 55 

He will again be well. If much you note him, 
You shall offend him and extend his passion ; 
Feed, and regard him not. — Are you a man ? 

Macbeth. Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that 
Which might appal the devil. 

Lady Macbeth. O proper stuff ! ^€0 

This is the very painting of your fear : 
This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said, 
Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, 
Impostors to true fear, would well become 

l)le's full. Had he glanced carelessly around and noted that there 
seemed no empty seat, but not noticed the new occupant of the place 
reserved for him? For an interesting discussion of the question 
whether Duncan's ghost as well as Banquo's appears to Macbeth, as 
well as whether the apparition is real (objective), or imaginary 
(subjective), as also whether it should be visible upon the stage, see 
Furness, Hudson, or Bolfe. The Variorum Edition of Furness is espec 
ially full on this point. See Shakespeariana, August, 1888. — 55. upon a 
thought. 1 Henry IF, II, iv, 202; Lovers Labor^s Lost, IV, iii, 325; 
Tempest, IV, i, 164; Julius Ccesar, V, iii, 19. — 57. passion = fit? — Gr. 
TTa&eli', pathein; Lat. pati, to suffer; passio, suffering. — shall inter- 
changeable with will? See Psalm xxiii, 6. — Abbott, 315. — Are line% 58 
to 60 spoken in the hearing of the company?— 60. j)roper stuff = 
mere nonsense [Clark and Wright] ? Proper (= fine, pretty, etc.) is 
often so used [Rolf ej ? Stuff is contemptuous ? Henry VIII, I, i, 58 ; 
Tempest, II, i, 24Q.— Hebrews, xi, 23.— Lat. proprms, one's own ; Fr. propre, 
proper, fit. — Lat. stupa, stuppa, the coarse part of flax, oakum, tow 
(used for stuffluij things or stopping them up) ; OldFr. estoffe; Fr. ^toffe, 
stuff, cloth. Brachet makes the word from German stoff, through Ital. 
■stoffa. — Has not the unavoidable inter jectional sound of the word in- 
fluenced its meaning, and helped to make it contemptuous? — 63. flaws. 
Norweg. flage, flaag, a sudden gust of wind. Metaphorically what? — 
Paradise Regftmed, iv, 454. -- 64. to = compared with [M.Mason]? com- 
pared to [Clark and Wright] ? To (meaning motion toward) means here 



134 MACBETH. ^ [act iir. 

A woman's story at a winter's fire, 65 

Authoriz'd by her grandam. Shame itself ! 
Why do you make such faces ? When all 's done, 
You look but on a stool. 

Macbeth. Prithee, see there ! behold ! look ! lo ! how 
say you ? — 
Why, what care I ? If thou canst nod, speak too. — 70 
If charnel-houses and our graves must send 
Those that we bury back, our monuments 
Shall be the maws of kites. [ Ghost vanishes. 

Lady Macbeth. What, quite unmann'd in folly ? 

Macbeth. If I stand here, I saw him. 

Lady Macbeth. Fie, for shame ! 

Macbeth. Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden 
time, 75 

Ere humane statute purg'd the gentle weal ; 
Ay, and since too, murders have been perform'd 
Too terrible for the ear : the times have been. 
That when the brains were out the man would die, 
And there an end ; but now they rise again, 80 

With twenty mortal murders on their crowns, 

"brought to the side of and compared with." Ahhott, 187. — 65. Wint- 
er's Tale, II, i, 25, has "A sad tale's best for winter; I have one of 
sprites and goblins." — 66. authorized = warranted [Clark and 
Wright]? Ahhott accents 2d syl., 491. — 68. stool. A. S. stol. a seat^ 
a throne; Ger. stuhl. a chair. From ^/sto for i/sta, to stand. — 73. 
maws. — A. S. maya, stomach, y'MAGH, to have power. — Spenser has 
"But be entombed in the raven or the kite," Faerie Q., II, viii, 16 — 
Gorgias Leontinus (B. C. 480-580) has the expression yuTre?, eixxjjvxoi. 
t6.<j)ol, gupes, empsuchoi taphoi, vultures, living tombs. So Lucianus 
(about A. D. 160?) has e/u,i//ux6s n? Ta</)o?, empsuchos tis taphos, a sort of 
living grave. Milton, Samson Agonistes, 102, "Myself my sepulchre, 
a moving grave". —73. Ghost vanishes. This was inserted by 
Rowe. Properly? —76. humane. Most editor's omit the final e, but 
Shakes, does not. He uses the word in both senses. If humane makes 
just as good sense as human, may we change it ? — gentle is said to be 
again proleptic here. Seel, vi, 3. — weal. A. S. iveala, well-being, 
welfare; whence wealth. Here commonwealth? — See " sickly weal," 
in V, ii, 27. — 78. have. The 1st folio reads has. Most editors change 
"times" to "time." Are two times referred to? — 80. there an end. 
Same expression in Richard II, V, i, 69. — rise again, etc. "Just as 
Mary and Both well were astonished to find that the dead Darnly had 
more power to overthrow them than he would have had when alive." 
Moherly.— SI. twenty. Whytwenty? Lines27, 28. — Walker and Hudson 
object to the repetition of murders; but is it not natural? "Out of the 
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." — mortal. Superfiuous 
word? I, V, 39; IV, iii, 3.— murders.— Icel. morth, death; A. S. mor- 
ther, murder ; akin to Lat. mors, mortis, death. — Hudson and Lettsoui 



SCENE IV.] MACBETH. I35 

And push us from our stools. This is more strange 
Than such a murder is. 

Lady Macbeth. My worthy lord, 

Your noble friends do lack you. 

Macbeth. I do forget. — 

Do not muse at me, my most worthy friends ; 85 

I have a strange infirmity, which is nothing 
To those that know me. Come, love and health to all ; 
Then I '11 sit down. — Give me some wine, fill full. — 
I drink to the general joy o' the whole table. 
And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss ; 90 

Would he were here ! to all and him we thirst, 
And all to all. 

Lords. Our duties, and the pledge. 

Re-enter Ghost. 

Macbeth. Avaunt ! and quit my sight ! let the earth hide 
thee ! 
Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold ; 
Thou hast no speculation in those eyes 95 

Which thou dost glare with. 

Lady Macbeth. Think of this, good peers, 

But as a thing of custom : 't is no other ; 
Only it spoils the pleasure of the time. 

change "murders" to "gashes"? rightfully? — 82. push us from our 
stools. This is the Homeric k^ eSeiov <rTV(^eAt^oi, ex hedeon stuphelixai. 
ntad, i, 581. A trace of Shakespeare's Greek reading? (Chapman's 
translation, the only one existing in Shakespeare's time, published in 
1598, translates the words thus: "Take you and toss you from your 
throne." It will be seen that Shakespeare is much closer to the orig- 
inal Homeric phrase.) 84. lack=need? miss? — Dutch taTc, blemish ; 
Icel. lakr, defective, lacking. — Coriolanus, IV, i, 15, "I shall be lov'd 
when I am lack'd." IV, iii, 237. — 85. muse. Ital. muso, a muzzle, a 
snout ; musdre, to muse, to think, gape idly about ; Old Fr. mwse, the 
mouth, snout of an animal; museau, muzzle, nose. "Tne image is of a 
dog snuffing idly about, and musing which direction to take" ! Sheat. 
- -91. thirst=wish to drinl?;? —Julius Ccesar, IV, iii, 160. — 92. all to all. 
The usual formula, meaning, "May all good things be to you all" ; oris 
it, "Let all drink heaJth to all"?— Timo?i, I, ii,212; Henry VIII, I, iv, 29 
— duties. Supply the ellipsis. — 93. Avauiit=begone ? — The sudden- 
ness of this exclamation, while the glasses are at their lips, is fright- 
ful. — French en avant^ forward, on ! — See vantage, I, ii, 31. — 95. specu- 
lation— the power of sight [Johnson]? in its Latin sense of vision or 
seeing [Hudson]? intelligence, communicated and perceived [Clark and 
Wright] ? look that reflects the image [Darmesteter] ? Lat. speculari, 
to behold; specere, to see. I, ii, 46; III, i, 127.— 98. only. Position of 



136 MACBETH. [act iri. 

Macbeth. What man dare, I dare : 
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, 100 

The arm'd rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger ; 
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves 
Shall never tremble : or be alive again, 
And dare me to the desert with thy sword ; 105 

If trembling I inhabit then, protest me 
The baby of a girl. He^jce, horrible shadow ! 
Unreal mockery, hence ! [ Ghost vanishes. 

Why, so : being gone, 



this word? Abbott. 420, III, vi, 2. — 99. I, vii, 46. Is dare archaic for 
dares f or should may be supplied? — 100. Russian bear. Henry F, III, 
vii, 128. — 101. arm'd is used both of defensive armor and offensive 
weapons [Clark and Wrig-ht] ? armored (referring to the thickness and 
hardness of the animal's hide) [Hudson] ? — Lat. arma, weapons; liter- 
ally "fittings," equipments; Gr. apfj.6^(o, harmozo, to fit together; ^ar, 
to fit, join. — rhinoceros; Gr. piv6/cepw5, rhinoceros, nose-horn; pt?, 
ptvos ris, rinos, nose ; /cepa?, keras, horn. — Hyrcan tiger. Hyr- 
cania, of undefined limits, lay south and south-east of the 
Caspian. In Holland's translation of Pliny (1601) the rhinoceros and 
Hyrcanian tigers are mentioned on opposite pages.' Hamlet, II, ii, 436; 
Mer. of Ven., II, vii, 41. — Virgil's ^neid, iv, 367. — 104. — Does this 
passage show whose ghost, Duncan's or Banquo's, appeared? — 
desert. Why "to the desert"? Plenty of room, and no danger 
of interference? — 105. If trembling I inhabit then. "This 
is the great crux of the play," says ±lolfe. Commentators have sug- 
gested in place of inhabit then, the following: inhibit then, inhabit here, 
inhibit thee, unknight me then, evade it then, exhibit then, evitateit then, in- 
herit then, avoid it then, flinch at it then, emhar thee, etc. Retaining the 
old text. White explains thus: "If then lam encompassed by trem- 
bling, and so, if I inhabit trembling." He cites " O thou, that inhab- 
itest the praises of Israel," Psalms, xxii, 3. We may be allowed to sug- 
gest as follows : The "Hyrcan tiger" in Pliny (Virgil iv, 367, and Ham- 
let, II, ii, 436) is associated with the " Hyrcanian deserts" (mentioned 
in the Merchant of Fe?iice, II, vii, 41). Shakespeare was doubtless fa- 
miliar also with the magnificent passage in Isaiah, describing the de- 
struction of Babylon in the adjacent region {Isaiah xiii, .especially 
verses 20, 21), "It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in 
from generation to generation, neither shall the Ai-abian pitch tent 
there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild 
beasts of the desert shall lie there," etc. The desert, uninhabited and 
uninhabitable, is thus suggested as a battle-ground for him. " Dare 
me to the desert with thy sword" — what is the natural antithesis? 
Why, to inhabit (some place) as a trembling coward ! — Paradise Lost, 
vii, 162. — 106. baby of a girl = a doll [Walker] ? infant of a very 
young mother, likely to be puny and weak [Clark and Wright] ? female 
baby [Darmesteter] ? a babyish girl [Hudson, suggestion of Prof. 
Howison] ? — "With prodigious bravery, and an effort for self-posses- 
sion that showed a power of will greater than he had ever had occa- 
sion to exert on the field of battle, he fronted the vision and addressed 
it as if it were real, approached it step by step until he finally faced it 
down." White. — 107. mockery. □Ric7wrd II, IV, i, 259; Hewy V, iv, 



SCENE ly.] MACBETH. 137 

I am a man again. — Pray you, sit still. 

Lady Macbeth. You have displac'd the mirth, broke the 
good meeting. 
With most admir'd disorder. 

Macbeth. Can such things be, 110 

And overcome us like a summer's cloud. 
Without our special wonder ? You make me strange 
Even to the disposition that I owe. 
When now I think you can behold such sights^ 
And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks, 115 

When mine is blanch'd with fear. 

Hoss. What sights, my lord ? 

Lady Macbeth. I pray you, speak not ; he grows worse 
and worse ; 
Question enrages him. At once, good night ; 
Stand not upon the order of your going, 
But go at once. 

Lemiox. Good night ; and better health 120 

Attend his majesty. 

Lady Macbeth. A kind good night to all ! 

\Exeunt all but Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. 

Macbeth. It will have blood, they say : blood will have 
blood.: 
Stones have been known to move and trees to speak ; 

prol. 53. — 108. a man. Manliness is always the chief of virtues to him? 
Verify. — still=:yet? quiet? orquietly? — 109. — displaced = deranged 
[Clark and Wright] ? banished [Schmidt] ? — 110. adinir'd=:admirable 
(spoken ironically) [Clarke] ? worthy of wonder [Clark and Wright] i 
In Richard III, I, iv, 27, and in Milton's Epitaph on Shakes., unvalued = 
invaluable. The -ed is used for -ahle. Abbott, 375. — 111. overcome = 
come over [Moberly] ? spread over, overshadow [Clark and Wright] i 
— Spenser's Fairie Qu., Ill, vii, 4. — 112. strange=:a stranger or forget- 
ful [Malone] ? unable to comprehend [Rolfe] { surprised [Delius, and 
Moberly]? not knowing, unacquainted [Schmidt]? — 113. owe. I, iv, 
10 ; I, iii, 76. — 116. mine. Referring to ruby [Jennens, Delius, Clark 
and Wright] ? to cheeks f — "Shakes, did not always trouble himself to 
make his pronouns agree with their antecedents." Rolfe. Abbott, 
247. White reads c?jee7f,- Hudson are blanch'd. — 119. Stand not, etc. 
— Why^ — See line 1 of the scene. — "We still say, 'do not stand on cere- 
mony. " Clark and Wright — 122. It will. What will? death of Dun- 
can? Banquo's gory head? the unnamed deed? See rebellious dead, lY, 
i, 97. — Most editors change the comma after blood to a semicolon, and 
remove the colon after say. Wisely? — See note on "bloody," I, ii, 1.^ 
See Genesis, ix, 5, 6, " Wlioso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his 
blood be shed." — 123. stones="rocking stones, by which the Druids 
tested guilt or innocence" [Paton] ? Mr. Patonsays one of these rock- 
ing stones was close to Glamis castle. — Lucan's Pharsalia, VI, 439. — 



1 3 8 MACBE2H. [act hi. 

Augures and understood relations have 

By magot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth 125 

The secret'st man of blood. — What is the night ? 

Lady Macbeth. Almost at odds with morning, which is 
which. 

Macbeth. How say'st thou, that Macduff denies his person 
At our great bidding ? 

Lady Macbeth. Did you send to him, sir ? 

Macbeth. I hear it by the way, but I will send : 130 

"Probably Shakes, is here alluding to some story in which the stones 
covering the corpse of a murdered man were said to have moved of 
themselves, and so revealed the secret." ClarK and Wright. — trees, 
etc. The commentators say this may allude to the story of Polydorus 
in Virgil, Mneid^ iii, 22-68. But did the tree speak? See line 43 of 
the passage. Clark and Wright, Furness, and Darmesteter err in print- 
ing 599 as one of the Virgilian lines referred to. — 124. augures. So 
the folios. Most change to augurs. "In Florio's JtaL Diet.., 1611, augure 
is given as the equivalent both for augurio, soothsaying, and auguro., a 
soothsayer. In the edition of 1598, 'augure' is only given as the trans- 
lation of augurio, and it is in this sense that it is used here." Clark and 
Wright. Moberly defines augures, auguries; so Darmesteter. Lat. 
augurium, augury. Max Muller makes the word from ams, bird, and 
-gur, telling, ^^gur being connected with garrire, garrulus, and the 
Sanscrit gar or gri, to shout." — For augur, Shakes, uses augurer. Julius 
CcBsar, II, i, 200; II, ii, 37. In Holland's Pliny, 1601, augure is used in 
the sense of augur. i?o?/6. ^understood relations=founded on rel- 
ative limits [Moberly] ? secret relations of things [Darmesteter] ? "cir- 
cumstantial evidence"? '■'■Relations are the connection of effects with 
causes." Jb/mso?i.— 125. magot-pies. This word is not quite so bad 
as it sounds ! Mag, Magot, Maggoty (like Madge) are various forms of 
the name Margaret. French Margot, put for Marguerite, Lat. margarita, 
a pearl. Pie is Lat. pica; Fr. pie; a magpie. "It probably means 
'chirper,' and is of imitative origin." Skeat. See note on "peep," I, v, 
51. — choughs (pron. chuffs), bird of the crow family. A. S. ceo; 
Dutch kaauw, a chough, jackdaw; Dan. kaa. So named from cawiny. 
Skeat. — TempesU II, i, 261. — 126. secret'st. See kincVst, II, i, 24. 
Ahbott, 473. — What. Peculiar meaning here? II, i, 1; Abhott, 253. — 
127. at odds. Icel. oddi, a triangle. The notion of oddness arose 
from the triangle, which has two angles at the base, and an odd one at 
the vertex. Closely related to oddr, a point of a weapon. A. S. ord, 
a point of a sword. The sense of " strange " or " queer" seems to be 
a mere development from that of uneven. Icel. standask i odda, to 
stand at odds, be at odds, quarrel. Skeat. — 128. How say'st thou 
= what do you think of this circumstance [M. Mason] ? what say you 
of the fact? — Here begins the " preparation for the next great passage 
in the story, which will be the main theme of the Fourth Act"? — 
denies. Lat. de, fully; 7ie, not; aiere, to say; deneg are, Old Fv. denier; 
Fr. denier, to deny, refuse. Skeat. Tempest, I, ii, 80; Mer. of Ven., Ill, 
iii, 26, 28. — 127. sir. "This word is an emphatic proof that she is 
wholly subjugated " [Maguinn] i — great bidding = general invita- 
tion [Hudson] important command? — 130. by the Avay = in passing? 
apropos? incidentally? casually^ — Did Macduff absent himself 
through distrust or dislike from the coronation? II, iv, 36? See III, vi, 



SCENE v.] MACBETH. 139 

There 's not a one of them but in his house 

I keep a servant fee'd. I will to-morrow, 

And betimes I will, to the weird sisters : 

More shall they speak, for now T am bent to know. 

By the worst means, the worst. For mine own good 135 

All causes shall give way : I am in blood 

Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, 

Returning were as tedious as go o'er. 

Strange things I have in head that w^ill to hand, 

Which must be acted ere they may be scann'd. 140 

Lady 31ad)etli. You lack the season of all natures, sleep. 

Macbeth. Come, we '11 to sleep. My strange and self- 
abuse 
Is the initiate fear that wants hard use : 
We are yet but young in deed. \^Exeunt. 

ScEXE V. A Heath. 
Thunder. Enter the three Witches, meeting Hecate. 
First Witch. Why, how now, Hecate ! you look angerly. 

40. — a one. Theobold changed one to thane; White, to man. White 
says nothing but Shakespeare's " own hand and seal could convince " 
him that Shakes, was guilty of saying, " There's notao?i6." But Ben. 
Jonson in Every Man in His Humor, III, ii,~ uses the phrase " ne'er a 
one" ; so, too. Shakes, in Timonof Athens, V, i, 86, has " never a one". 
Abbott, 81. See IV, iii, 66, 101 ; V, viii, 74.— 136, 137. in blood stepp'd in. 
In repeated for clearness? or blunderingly ? Abbott, 407. Mid. N. Dr., 
Ill, ii, 47-49. — 138. as go o'er. "The Elizabethan authors objected to 
scarcely any ellipsis, provided the deficiency could be easily supplied 
from the context. ' ' Abbott, 382, 383, 384. — 1 40 . scanned = scrutinized i 
Lat. scandere, to climb, to scan a verse ; Sanscrit skand, to spring, ascend ; 
Fv.scander, to scan (verse). How arise the desired meaning fr. j skand, 
to spring upward? — Hamlet, III, iii, 75; Othello, III, iii, 245. niay=can? 
or the usual sense? — 141. season of all natures =: season which all 
natures require? that which gives a relish to all nature [Johnson] ? 
that which keeps all natures fresh [Schmidt] ; — Alas, he had murdered 
sleep! II, ii, 36. — 142. self is an adjective? Hence the use of and? 
See V, viii, 70. — abuse. H, i, 50. Hamlet, II, ii, 590. In Tempest, V, 
i, 112. Lat. at), away, amiss; uti, to use; ahuti, to misuse; Fr. abuser :^ 
to abuse = to delude, deceive. So abuse is deception in Henry V, ii, 
chorus, 32. — 143. initiate. Lat. in, into ; ire, to go ; inire, to enter 
upon; initidlis, incipient. — hard use. Proleptical? the use that 
makes hard? — 144. indeed. The folios have indeed. Theobold made 
the change . Well ? — Note the admirable behavior of Lady Macbeth 
throughout this scene. Progress in the plot. 

Scene V. — 1. Hecate. II, i, 52. A malicious friend, afflicted with 
insomnia, having cause to remember " Graymalkin," I, i, 8, and notic- 
ing the spelling Hecat of the first two folios, insists that we pronounce 
it He-cat! — "Shakes, has been censured for mixing Hecate up with 



140 ■ MACBETH. [act iii. 

Hecate. Have I not reason, beldams as you are, 
Saucy and overbold ? How did you dare 
To trade and traffic with Macbeth 

In riddles and affairs of death ; , o 

And I, the mistress of your charms, 
The close contriver of all harms, 
Was never call'd to bear my part, 
■Or show the glory of our art ? 

And, which is worse, all you have done 10 

Hath been but for a wayward son. 
Spiteful and wrathful ; who, as others do, 
Loves for his own ends, not for you. 
But make amends now : get you gone, 
And at the pit of Acheron 15 

Meet me i' the morning : thither he 
Will come to know his destiny. 
Your vessels and your spells provide, 
Your charms and every thing beside. 

I am for the air ; this night I '11 spend 20 

TTnto a dismal and a fatal end : 
Great business must be wrought ere noon. 

vulgar Scotch witches smelling of snuff and usquebaugh." White. 
Many instances of the blending of Gothic and Pagan fictions are re- 
corded. See Furness. — angerly. From y agh and v^angh, to choke ; 
Gr. ayxetv, to Strangle ; Lat. angor, a strangling, bodily torture ; Icel. 
angr, grief: -ly, A. S. lice, adv.; lie, adj. =like. — Abhott, 447. King 
John, IV, i, 82. — 2. beldams. Lat. hella, fair ; domina, lady ; Pr. 
belle, fair; dame, lady. Ironical? — Beldam is a doublet of helladonna! 
— The name helladonna (deadly nightshade) is due to the use of. it by 
ladies to give expression to the eyes, the pupils of which it expands. 
ST^eat. — 7. close. Gr. KAeito, I shut; Lat cZmtderc, to shut; clausus, be- 
ing shut, shut in; Old Fr. clos, enclosed. V, i, 17; Rom. and Jul., I, i, 
141; I Henry IV, II, iii, 105, 106. — "In reality the harms come from 
the secret contriver, Hecate." Delius. — 13. loves. "There is no 
liint of his pretending love to the witches." Clark and Wright. This 
is one of the many supposed indications that this scene is spurious. 
But Morley says of this passage, " Thus far all crime has been to win 
and to secure some earthly gain; has had a motive with a touch in it of 
human reason. Macbeth has been made but a wayward son of the 
powers of darkness, loving evil for his own ends, not for itself; not 
for you, who are evil itself. For the complete perdition of the tempted 
soul, it must be dragged down to the lowest deep, till it do evil with- 
out hope of other gain than the satisfaction of a fiendish malice. " — 15. 
Acheron. "Some foul tarn or gloomy pool in tho neighborhood of 
Macbeth' s castle." Clarke. "Any cave or pit communicating with the 
infernal regions." Clark and Wright. Gr. Axepuiv, Acheron, a river of 
the nether world ; f r. 6 axea peu,v, ho achea reon, the stream of woe ; 
" Sad Acheron, of sorrow black and deep," Par. Lost, ii, 578. — Malone 



SCENE VI] MACBETH, 141 

Upon the corner of the moon . - 

There hangs a vaporous drop profound ; 
I '11 catch it ere it come to ground ; 25' 

And that, distill'd by magic sleightc, 
Shall raise such artificial sprites 
As by the strength of their illusion 
Shall draw him on to his confusion. 

He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear 80 

His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace, and fear : 
And you all know security 
Is mortals' chief est enemy. 

\^Mtisic and a song within: "Come away, come away," etc. 

Hark I I am called ; my little spirit, see, 35 

Sits in a foggy cloud, and stays for me. \Exit. 

First Witch. Come, let 's make haste ; she '11 soon be 

back again. [Exeicnt. 

Scene VI. Forres. The Palace. 
Enter Lenjsox and another Lord. 
Lennox. My former speeches have but hit your thoughts, 

fancies that Shakes, was led by Scripture to make his witches assem- 
ble at Acheron [Ekron^j. See 2 Kings, i, 2, 3, 6, — 23. corner of the 
moon. See Milton's Comus, 1016, 1017. — 24! profound = full of 
secret power [Moberly] ? having deep or hidden qualities [Johnson] i 
deep, and therefore ready to fall [Clark and Wright] '{ brought from 
the depths of the moon [Meiklejohn] ? Lat. pro, forward, downward, 
far, deep ; /wndus, the ground, bottom ; profundus, deep. Skeat. The 
position of a noun between two adjectives, as of drop between the two 
epithets, is a favorite one with Milton. Poetic or rhetorical effect of 
it? — vaporous drop. Is it the same as the vij^us lundre of Lucan, 
Pharsalia, vi, 506, 669, a foam fabled to have been shed by the moon on 
particular herbs, at once the effect and the cause of enchantment? — 
26. sleights. Icel. slaegdh, slyness, cunning; fr. slaegr, slj ; Swed. 
slog, handy, expert; whence sly. Skeat. ^'■Sleight is the noun from sly, 
as drought is from dry." Note the phrase "sleight of hand." — 27. 
artificial = artful? produced by art? Mid. NighVs Dr., Ill, ii, 203. — 
sprites. II, iii, 60; IV, i, 127,-29. confusion. II, iii, 47. —31. 
'bove. For prefixes dropped in Shakes., see Abbott, 460. — 32. secur- 
ity. Lat. S6-, free from; cura, care; securitas, freedom from care; 
carelessness. — "At the outset it had been the suggestion of security that 
resolved Macbeth' s doubt, when he first shrunk from the murder of 
Duncan." Morley. — The critics quote from John Webster's Duchess 
of Malfi, V, ii, "security some men call the suburbs of hell." ^33. 
song. See post. — Many commentators regard this scene as spurious. 
Is it at all needed in the plot? Is it like Shakespeare's work? — Of the 
two closing soenes of this Act, Moberly says that they have ' ' touches 
of artistic preparation for the end." 

Scene VI. — 1. hit = coincided with? stirred up? been intended to 



142 MACBETH. [act in. 

Which can interpret farther : only I say 

Things have been strangely borne. The gracious Duncan 

Was pitied of Macbeth : — marry, he was dead ; 

And the right-valiant Banquo walk'd too late ; 5 

Whom, you may say, if 't please you, Fleance kill'd, 

For Fleance fled : men must not walk too late. 

Who cannot want the thought, how monstrous 

It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain 

To kill their gracious father ? damned fact ! 10 

How it did grieve Macbeth ! did he not straight 

In pious rage the two delinquents tear. 

That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep ? 

Was not that nobly done ? Ay, and wisely too ; 

For 't would have anger'd any heart alive 15 

To hear the men deny 't. So that, I say, 

He has borne all things well : and I do think 

stir up [Moberly] ? — 2. only as in III, iv, 98? — 3. borne = managed, 
carried on ? tolerated ? See line 17 below. — 4. of. This \vrord means 
from, out of, off, in consequence of, with, at, in, by, as regards, about, 
on, during, etc. Which here? Ahhott, 170. — Marry. By Mary! — 
"Has the force of indeed, forsootli, to be sure.''^ Hudson. — Said to be 
'•here equivalent to amonosyl." But is it? Ahhott, 463; I, ii, 5, 7, 20. — 8. 
want, etc. There has been great controversy over this line, and 
many emendations have been proposed. The most plausible change is 
to remove the stop after "late " at the end of line 7, and the question- 
mark after " father " in line 10, and interpret thus : " Men, who cannot 
help thinking how monstrous it was for the princes to kill their father, 
must avoid night walking." The sense apparently requires to express 
ironVi "Who can want," etc., meaning " who can help thinking," etc. 
Clark and Wright say as follows: "The sentence, if analyzed, ex- 
presses exactly the converse of that which is its obvious meaning. 
This construction arises from a confusion of thought common enough 
when a negative is expressed or implied, and is so frequent in Greek 
writers as to be almost sanctioned by usage." — " Who cannot want" 
= "Who cannot not have " ; where the double negative, as is often the 
case in Shakespeare, and very often in early English and in the Greek 
writers, but strengthened the negation? See I, iv, 30, 31. Richard III, 
I, iii, 90, has, "you may deny that you were not the cause," the evident 
meaning being, " You may deny that you were the cause." Ahhott, 406. 
The rule in Greek is that "when a negative is followed by a compound _ 
negative, the negation is strengthened ; as, avev tovtov ouSei? vju,ajv ovSenore 
7evotTo av afios ovSei'6<; = without this, uo One of you would cvcr (lit. 
never) be worth anything (lit. nothing) . — If we must make any 
change, perhaps mnv for not would be best. — monstrous. Trisyl. ? 
Abbott, 477. — 10. fact occurs in Shakes, 14 times, and always in a bad 
sense. Rolfe, Delius, Schmidt. — 13. thralls. Icel. thraell, Dan. trael, 
Swed. trdl, a thrall, serf, slave; A. S. thraegian, to run; thrag, thrah, 
a running, course; cognate with Gr. rpexetv, trechein, to run; rpoxo?, 
trochos, a course. A thrall, then, is a runner, one who runs on errands, 
a servant. Not derived, as Richardson and Trench would have it. 



SCENE VI.] MACBETH. 143 

That had he Duncan's sons under his key — 

As, and 't please heaven, he shall not — they should find 

What 't were to kill a father ; so should Fleance. 20 

But, peace ! for from broad words, and 'cause he fail'd 

His presence at the tyrant's feast, I hear 

Macduff lives in disgrace. Sir, can you tell 

Where he bestows himself ? 

Lord. The son of Duncan, 

From whom this tyrant holds the due of birth, 25 

Lives in the English court, and is receiv'd 
Of the most pious Edward with such grace 
That the malevolence of fortune nothing 
Takes from his high respect. Thither Slacduff 
Is gone to pray the holy king, upon his aid 30 

To wake Northumberland and warlike Siward ; 
That by the help of these, with Him above 
To ratify the work, we may again 
Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights. 
Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives, 35 

Do faithful homage and receive free honors ; 
All which we pine for now. And this report 
Hath so exasperate their king that he 
Prepares for some attempt of war. 

Lennox. Sent he to Macduff ? 

■from A. S. thyrlian^ to bore, drill. Skcat. " Shakes, uses the noun 6 
times, and always in this sense, except in P. P." Bolfe. -- 19. and 't 
please heaven. So the folios, but most editors change and to an. 
" The true explanation (of and with the subjunctive) appears to be that 
the hypothesis, the if, is expressed not by the and, but by the subjunct- 
ive, and that and merely means with the addition of, piws." Abbott, 101, 
102, 103.— 21. from broad=because of bold? Henrij VIII, I, i, 125; Ham- 
let, II, ii, 538 ; III, iv, 2.— failed. Transitive as in III, i, 27 ; Lear, II, iv, 
136? — 24. bestows. Ill, i, 29. — son. The folios have the plural. — 
25. tyrant = usurper? Like the Gr. rupai/j/o?, turannos, which first 
meant an absolute ruler, and afterwards a tyrant. 3 Henry VI, III, iii, 
69; Macbeth, IV, iii, 67. — Edward, the Confessor. Why called pious? 
-of. Line 4. —30. Scan. Upon his shortened to upon^s? Abbott, 
498. — upon = for the purpose of [Rolfe] ? "in" or "to" [Clark and 
Wright] ? — 35. free = remove [Schmidt] ? So in Epilogue to Tempest, 
line 18, prayer "frees [removes] all faults". — Hudson changes /ree to 
keep. — 36. free = either freely bestowed, or without slavery [John- 
son] ? such as freemen receive from a lawful king [Clark and Wright] ? 
— 38. exasperate. In verbs in which the infinitive ends in -t, -ed is 
often omitted in the 'past indicative for euphony. Some verbs ending 
in -te, -t, and -d, on account of their already resembling participles in 
their terminations, do not add • ed in the participle. The same rule, 
naturally dictated by euphony, is found in early English. Abbott, 841, 



144 MACBETH. [act iii. 

Lord. He did : and with an absolute "Sir, not I," 40 
The cloudy messenger turns me his back, 
And hums, as who should say "You '11 rue the time 
That clogs me with this answer." 

Lennox. And that well might 

Advise him to a caution, to hold what distance 
His wisdom can provide. Some holy angel 
Fly to the court of England and unfold 
His message ere he come, that a swift blessing 
May soon return to this our suffering country 
Under a hand accurs'd ! 

Lord. I '11 send my prayers with him I 

[LJxeunt. 

342. — their. Macduff ^s and Malcolm's ? — Most editors change their to 
the. Is it necessary ? — The king might be construed to mean Edward \ 
— 41. cloudy = forboding [DeliusJ ? frowning [Rolfe] ? gloomy, sul- 
len [Clark and Wright] ? 1 Henry IV., Ill, ii, 83. — me. " Me, thee., him, 
etc. , are often used, in virtue of their representing the old dative, where 
we should use /or me, hy me," etc. Abbott, 220. " Me here is a kind of 
enclitic adding vivacity to the description." Clark and Wright. — 42. 
who = any one [Abbott, 257] ? So Mer. of Venice, I, ii, 39, 40, "as who 
should say, ' an you will not have me, choose.' " — 48, 49. suffering 
country under = country suffering under? As to transposition of 
adjectival phrases, see Abbott, 419a. But is there really any transposi- 
tion here? — Is this scene of any value in itself? Is it valuable as a 
preparation for the next Act? 



MACBETH, ' 145 



ACT IV. 

Scene I. A Cavern. In the Middle^ a Boiling Cauldron, 
Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 

First Witch. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. 
Second Witch. Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whin'd. 
Third Witch. Harpier cries, — 't is time, 't is time. 
First Witch. Round about the cauldron go ; 

ACT IV. Scene I. — •' The rich vocabulary, prodigal fancy and 
terse diction, displayed in IV, i, 1-38, show the hand of a master, and 
make us hesitate in ascribing the passage to any one but the master 
himself. There is, however, a conspicuous falling off in lines 39-47, 
after the entrance of Hecate." Clark and Wright. Verify!— The 
familiar spirits open the seance. How was it in I, i? — Mr. Fleay be- 
lieves that these caldron witches are creations of Shakespeare, but 
wholly distinct from the "weird sisters" of I, iii. — 1. brinded. 
Icel. brandr^ a brand, flame, fire-brand; hrond, brindled; brcnna, to 
burn. Thus brinded is little more than another form of branded; brin- 
dled, being an extended quasi-dimin. form. Skeat. Par. Lost, vii, 466; 
Comus, 443. — cat. Was it "Graymalkin "? I, i, 9. — mewed. Was 
it to give the witches a signal? — 2. Thrice. The folios put comma 
after thrice ; most editors omit it. The better ? Virgil, in Eclogue, viii, 
76, speaking of incantations and magic, says, niimero deus impare gaudet, 
a god (i. e. the gods) delights in an odd number. — the hedge pig "is 
nocturnal in its habits, weird in its movements ; plants wither where 
it works, for it cuts off their roots. Fairies of one class were supposed 
to assume its form. Urchin came to mean fairy, without reference to 
its hedge-hog shape ; hence, because fairies are little and mischievous, 
it came to be applied to a child." Krauth. " Prom its solitariness, the 
ugliness of its appearance, and from a popular opinion that it sucked 
or poisoned the udders of cows, it was adopted into the demonologic 
system, and its shape was sometimes supposed to be assumed by mis- 
chievous elves." Warton. See Co mits, 845, 846. whined. A signal? 
— 3. Harpier. Fleay in Shakespeariana, Dec, 1883, says, " It appears 
that the familiars are, 1, cat (Graymalkin) ; 2, toad (Paddock) ; 3, 
hedge-pig ; 4, Harpier. In Hamlet we find the cat, toad, and bat enum- 
erated together. Query. Is Harpier the bat? A harpie with long 
claws, bear's ears, human face, bird's body, must have been very bat- 
like, and bats in Shakespeare's time were reckoned among birds. Of 
course all succubi must be sucking animals or reputed such. There is 
a bat now called 'Harpie of the Moluccas,' on account of its appear- 
ance." — Gr. SiptrvLaC, harpuaiai, spoilers, snatchers; dpTra^w, harpazo, I 
seize. Virgil's harpies are foul monsters, half woman and half bird; 
uT^neid, iii, 212, etc. Homer makes them personified storm-winds that 



146 MACBETH. [act iv. 

In the poison'd entrails throw. 5 

Toad, that under cold stone 
Days and nights has thirty-one 
Swelter'd venom sleeping got, 
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. 

All. Double, double toil and trouble ; 10 

Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 

Second Witch. Fillet of a fenny snake, 
In the cauldron boil and bake ; 
Eye of newt and toe of frog, 

Wool of bat and tongue of dog, 15 

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, 
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing. 
For a charm of powerful trouble. 
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. 

All. Double, double toil and trouble ; 30 

carry off those who mysteriously disappear. — "Probably some ani- 
mal thus designated by the witch because of the resemblance of its cry 
to the sound of a harp-string!" Guizot. — 't is time. The exclama- 
tion of the witch ? of Harpier? — 5. throw. In devising loathsome in- 
gredients for witches' messes, Lucan, Pharsalia, vi, 667-681, perhaps 
excels. Clark and JVright. — 6. toad, etc. The line seems to lack a 
syl. Some change cold to coldest; others supply t/ie before cold; and 
many make a disyl. of cold, as if prolonged with a shiver ! — Is the toad 
addressed? — 8. s\4^eltered = caused to exude by heat [Skeat] ? 
sultry and sweltry are the same word. Mid. Eng. swelten, to die ; swoon 
away; A. S. sweltan; Icel., svelta, to die; all from Teut. base swalt, 
to die, fr. swal, to swell. There seems to have been some confusion 
with the Teut. base swal, to glow, be hot ; from which the Eng. word 
lias undoubtedly received its present sense? this appears in A. S. 
swelan, to burn ; swol, heat, etc. Skeat. The fiery activity of the venom 
is hinted by its overcoming the coldness of the stone ; and so, if we 
must change the line, we should prefer to read coldest. — venom. 
Shakes, often alludes to the toad as poisonous. Hunter quotes Davy 
as showing that the belief is well grounded, "the poison lying diffused 
over the body immediately ander the skin." As You Like It, II, i, 13; 
Richard III, I, ii, 149.— 10. toil. Personification? or — ?— Note the allit- 
eration in the passage. — The verse of four accents rarely used in 
Shakes., except by witches or other extraordinary beings. Abbott, 
504. —12. Fillet = hood, head-dress ? band-like skin ? The cast-off 
skin of a snake is strikingly like a ribbon ! — Lat. filum, thread ; Fr. 
filet, dim. of fil, a thread. — 14. newt. A. S. efeta; ef, river; Sanscrit 
ap, w'ater; Provin. Eng. eft, water-animal. The n is borrowed from 
the article an. The boys in New England call the lizard ev-et, ef-et, or 
eft. — 16. blind-worm=slow-worm? It is about a foot long, Its eyes 
were so small that it was supposed to have none. — 17. how^let's. 
From ]/ UL, to hoot, howl, screech; A. S, ide; Dutch uil; Icel. ugla; 
Ger. eule; Lat. ulula; owl; Gr. uAao, I howl, bark. The word is imita- 
tive, from the same root as liowl; -et is dimin. — In spelling the h 
is commonly dropped . Is it commonly sounded by some in En 



SCENE I.] MACBETH, 147 

Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 

Tliird Witch. Scale of dragon, tootli of wolf, 
Witches' mummy ; maw and gulf 
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, 

Kootof hemlock digg'd i' the dark, 25 

Liver of blaspheming Jew, 
Gall of goat, and slips of yew 
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse, 
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips, 

Finger of birth-strangled babe 30 

Ditch-deliver'd by a drab. 
Make the gruel thick and slab : 
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, 
For the ingredience of our cauldron. 

All. Double, double toil and trouble ; 35 

Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 

Second Witch. Cool it with a baboon's blood, 
Then the charm is firm and good. 

Enter Hecate. 

Hecate. O, well done ! I commend your pains ; J 
And every one shall share i' the gains * r*"' ^ 

And now about the cauldron sing, 

gland?— 22. mummy. Othello, III, iv, 73. On account of the aromatic 
substance mixed or adhering, Egyptian mummy in bits, or as powder, 
was valued as a part of the old materia medica. "The Egyptian mum- 
mies which Cambyses spared, avarice now consumeth. Mummy is be- 
come merchandise : Mizraim cures wounds, and Pharaoh is sold for 
balsams ! " Sir Thomas Brown (1605-16S2) . —maw. Ill, iv, 73.— gulf. 
French golfe, a gulf, whirlpool ; a swallowng eddy ; Late Gr. k6\4>o<;, 
kolphos ; Gr. koAtto?, kolpos, bosom, lap, deep hollow, bay. Perhaps 
gulp IS a mere variant of gulph or gulf. SKeat. — 24. ravm'd=ravening 
[Moberly] ? ravenous [Malone] ? glutted with prey [SteevensJ ? II, iv, 
28. Abhott, 374.-25. digg'd. The invariable form in Shakes, and 
Milton, and King James's Bible. —26. liver. "Whence comes his 
bile and spitefulness." Moberly.— 27. yew. Reckoned poisonous. Douce. 
—28. sliver'd. A. S. slifan, to cleave; slttan, to slit; Prov. Eng. slive, 
to cut or slice off ; a slice, or slip. — eclipse, a time unlucky for ordi- 
nary mortals, most fortunate for dealers in the black art ! Shakespeare' s 
107th Sonnet; Milton's Lycidas, 100, 101. Par. Lost, i, 597.-32. slab= 
thick, viscous, glutinous ?— Irish slab, Gael, slaih, mire, mud; Icel. 
slapja, slime, akin to slop, slaver, slabber. Skeat. — 33. chaudron. Ger. 
kaldaunen, tripe, entrails. This seems to have been the omentum. 
White.— 34:. ingredience. I, vii, 11.— 37. baboon's. Abbott, 490, 492, 
gives list of words accented nearer the end and others nearer the be- 
ginning than now. How is it with this word?— 38 . The stage direction 
in the folios is "Enter Hecat, and the other three witches." Who are 
the other three witches ? Should the direction be retained? Are six 



148 MACBETH. [act iv. 

Like elves and fairies in a ring, 
Enchanting all that you put in. 
yMusic and a song : " Black spirits," etc. 

Second Witch. By the pricking of my thumbs, 
Something wicked this way comes. 45 

Open locks. 
Whoever knocks ! 

Enter Macbeth. 

Macbeth. How now, you secret, black, and midnight 
hags ! 
What is 't you do ? 

All. A deed without a name. 

Macbeth. I conjure you, by that which you profess, 50 
Howe'er you come to know it, answer me : 
Though you untie the winds and let them fight 
Against the churches ; though the yesty waves 
Confound and swallow navigation up ; 
Though bladed corn be lodg'd and trees blown down ; 55 

witches needed in the dance? — 43. The stage direction is from Polio 1. 
The song, found in The Witch of Middleton (died in 1627) begins 

Come away, come away, 

Hecate, Hecate, come away! 
I come, I come, I come, I come, 

With all the Bpeed I may. 

See post. —44. pricking, etc. "The superstition still lives which re- 
gards pricking sensations in the thumbs, burnings in the ear, etc., as 
omens." Master pieces., p. 154, Upton quotes from Plautus {Miles Glo- 
rio8us).,ita dorsus totus prurit, etc., to illustrate. — 50. conjure (Shakes, 
commonly, but not always, accents the first syl.), adjure? excite by 
magic, or summon up by enchantment? — Accentuation and pronuncia- 
tion at the present day? — Lat. con, together, jur are, to swear; conjurdrCy 
to swear together, combine by oath, conspire ; Mid. Eng. conjure, to im- 
plore solemnly ; Pr. conjurer, to adjure ; also to exorcise a spirit. Con- 
jure, to juggle is the same word, and refers to the invocation of spirits. 
Skeat. — 52. untie the winds, etc. — See note on wind, I, iii, 11. So 
"They.loosed the wallet, and all the winds brake forth." Odyssey, x, 47. — 
Mrs. Henry Pott in an interesting way points out remarkable resem- 
blances between this passage and Lord Bacon's language in his Studies 
of the History of the Winds. See Shakespeariana, December, 1884. — Any 
allusion to the myth of -^olus and the winds ? See, as to similarities 
of thought or expression between Shakespeare and Bacon, the explana- 
tion by the present editor in the Overland Monthly (California) for Sep- 
tember, 1886, in his review of White's Studies in Shakespeare, and O'Con- 
nor's HamleVs Note Book, pp. 331, 332, 333. — 53. churches, etc. Why 
against these? — yesty. j/yas, to foam, ferment; A. S. gist; Icel. jast; 
Ger. gdscht., yeast;- Gr. ^e'etj/, zeein, to boil, seethe; CeTT6<;, zestos,. fer- 
vent. — Hamlet, V, ii, 182. — 55. bladed=in the blade. "Ovid affirmith 
that they can raise and suppress lightning and thunder, raine and hail, 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. 149 

Though castles topple on their warders' heads ; 

Though palaces and pyramids do slope 

Their heads to their foundations ; though the treasure 

Of nature's germens tumble all together, 

Even till destruction sicken ; answer me 60 

To what I ask you. 

First Witch. Speak. 

Second Witch. Demand. 

Third Witch. We '11 answer. 

First Witch. Say, if thou 'dst rather hear it from our 
mouths, 
Or from our masters'. 

Macbeth. Call 'em ; let me see 'em. 

First Witch. Pour in sow's blood, that hath eaten 
Her nine farrow ; grease that 's sweaten 65 

From the murderer's gibbet throw 
Into the flame. 

All. Come, high or low ; 

Thyself and office deftly show ! 

Thunder. First Apparition : an armed Head. 

Macbeth. Tell me, thou unknown power, — 

First Witch. He knows thy thought : 

clouds and winds, tempests and earthquakes. Others do write that they 
can pull down the moon and stars ; some that they can transfer corn in 
the blade from one place to another." Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft, 
(1584), Book 1, chap. iv. — lodg'd = beaten down so as to staj^? Fr. 
loge, a lodge ; Low Lat . lauMa, a lodge, a porch ; Old High Ger. lauhja, 
a hut of leaves; French loger, to lodge, lie, sojourn. Brachet^ and Skeat. 
— 57. slope. A. S. slipan, to slip, glide, pass away ; sleopan or shepan 
(past tense sledp, p.p. slopen) to slip; akin to Icel. sleppa, to let slip. — 
"N"owhere else in Shakes. — 59. germens = germs, seeds? — Lat. ger- 
men, a sprout, shoot; Fr. germe, a young shoot, sprout. From |/kar, 
to move about. Sanscrit char, to move, to live, to act. The folios read 
germaine or germain. Halliwell prints german, meaning kindred, and 
El win strongly concurs. With some misgivings, we adopt the usual 
emendation in consideration of Lear III, ii, 8, "Crack nature's moulds, 
all germens spill at once That make ingrateful man" ; also of Winter'' s 
Tale,lY, iv, 467, 468.— 60. sicken^make sick ? grow sick ? be surf eited ? 
— 63. masters. Some put a question mark after masters. Is it proper? 
Others make masters possessive? Rightly? — 65. farrow. A.S.fearh; 
Old High Ger. farah ; akin to Lat. porcus, a pig ; Dan. fare, to farrow, 
produce a litter of pigs. Skeat. "If a sowe eat her pigges, let hyr be 
stoned to death and buried." Law of Kenneth II, of Scotland, quoted 
by Holinshed, 1577. It is not very uncommon for a sow to eat her 
newly-born young . Such a case occurred about ten years ago in our 
native town. — sweaten. So foughten, Henry V. IV, vi, IS; strucken, 
Julius Ccesar, II, ii, 114; III, i, 210. Abhott, 344. — 68. — "These appari- 



150 MACBETH. [act iv. 

Hear his speech, but say thou nought. "70 

First Appar%tio7x. Macbeth ! Macbeth ! Macbeth ! beware 
Macduff ; 
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me : enough. 

[ Descends. 
Macbeth. Whate'er thou art, for thy good caution, thanks ; 
Thou hast harp'd my fear aright : but one word more, — 
First Witch. He will not be commanded ; here's an- 
other, '<'5 
More potent than the first. 

Thunder. Second Apparition : a bloody Child. 

Second Apparition. Macbeth ! Macbeth ! Macbeth ! 

Macbeth. Had I three ears, I 'd hear thee. 

Second Apparition. Be bloody, bold, and resolute ; laugh 
to scorn 
The power of man, for none of woman born 80 

Shall harm Macbeth. \^Descends. 

Macbeth. Then live, Macduff : what need I fear of thee ? 
But yet I '11 make assurance double sure. 
And take a bond of fate : thou shalt not live : 



tions, 'the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lyiiiQ won- 
ders' (2 Thessalonians, ii, 9), but raise Macbeth' s hopes to destroy him, 
'keep the word of promise to the ear, and break it to the hope' ; for 
they are really but signs of his own fall." — "The armed ftead represents 
Macbeth's head cut off by Macduff, V, viii, 53, 54; the bloody child rep- 
resents Macduff, V, viii, 15 ; the child crowned, with a tree in his hand, 
Malcolm, V, iv, 4." — "The armed head was probably a reminiscence of 
the 'brazen head' supposed to be made by Roger Bacon, which could 
'read a lecture of philosophy.' " Greene, Friar Bacon, II, 25. — 70. say 
thou nought. Silence necessary in incantations? — 74. harp'd = 
struck the key-note of [Clark and Wright] ? sounded forth as from a 
harp? — 76. more potent. Why more potent?— 78. three. Why three? 
"It is possible to pronounce the emphatic word three in such a tone as to 
indicate that 'since he has but two ears he cannot hear.' " Whately says 
this to illustrate the imperfection of any system of marks or signs, for 
indicating tones in elocution. But the "circumflex" on three exactly in- 
dicates the wrong delivery; as the simple falling slide does the right? 
— 80. of woman born. A similar prediction is found in the case of 
mj thical heroes of other nations ; so too the story of the moving grove, 
line 93. See Rolfe, pp. 231, 232.-84. take a bond of fate=bind fate 
itself to my cause [Hudson] ? put it out of fate's power to break the 
promise [Clark and Wright] ? — III, ii, 49. — "Referring not to a single 
but to a conditional bond, under, or by virtue of which, when forfeited, 
double the principal sum was recoverable." Bushton (1870). Is this 



SCENE I.J MACBETH. 151 

That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, 85 

And sleep in spite of thunder. 

Thunder. Third Apparition : a Child crowned, with a tree 

in his hand. 

What is this, 
That rises like the issue of a king, 
And wears upon his baby brow the round 
And top of sovereignty ? 

All. Listen, but speak not to 't. 

Third Apparition. Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no 
care 
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are : 91 

Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until 
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill 
Shall come against him. \I)e8cend8. 

Macbeth. That will never be : 

Who can impress the forest, bid the tree ' 95 

Unfix his earth-bound root ? Sweet bodements ! good ! 
Rebellious dead, rise never, till the wood 

the proper explanation of "make assurance double sure"? — 85. pale- 
hearted. II, ii, 65 ; V, iii, 16.— 88. round. I, v, 26. — 89. top = the 
ornament that rises above the crown [Johnson] ? the summit of ambi- 
tious hopes [White] ? — the round and top of sovereignty, a 

stately periphrasis, suggested by, rather than descriptive of, a closed 
crown, and including in its poetic vagueness much more than the mere 
symbol of royalty [Clark and Wright] '\ For top, see similar express- 
ions in Tempest, III, i, 38; 2 Henry VI, I, ii, 49; Measure for Meas., II, 
ii, 76. — 92. Grimm's Popular Tales, i, 148; ii, 91. Line 80, above. — 
"Whoever wishes to give himself the appearance of having a thousand 
men or horse round him, let him have a year-old willow-bough cut off 
at a single stroke, with certain conjurations, repetition of barbarous 
words, and rude characters." John Weijer, DePraestigUs (1586). — 93. 
Birnam village is a suburb of Dunkeld, about 15 miles N . N. W. of 
Perth. The wood covered Birnam hill, 1580 feet above the sea-level. 
Twelve miles E. S. E. lay Dunsinane (now Dunsmnan) Hill, seven 
miles N. E. of Perth. On the top of the latter hill are ruins of an old 
fortress with ramparts and fosse, popularly called Macbeth' s Gas tie. — 
Accent of Dunsinane? V, ii, 12; iii, 60, 61, etc. — 95. inipress=enlist? 
force into military service? leave an imprint upon? make an impress- 
ion upon? — Hamlet, I, i, 75; Riehard II, HI, ii, 58; 1 Henry IV, I, i, 21. — 
96. bodements. A. S. hod, a message; bodian, to announce; Eng. 
bode, to foreshow, announce; -ment, Lat. -men, or -mentum, act, means, 
or result ?— 97. Rebellious dead. So the folios. Most editors follow 
Theobald in substituting Rebellioyi\s head, and with Glark and Wright 
they claim that the phrase "is suggested to Macbeth by the apparition 
of the armed head, which he misinterprets." But what evidence have 
they that Macbeth misinterprets? The head was friendly, not "rebel- 



152 MACBETH. [act iv. 

Of Birnam rise, and our high-plac'd Macbetli 

Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath 

To time and mortal custom. Yet my heart 100 

Throbs to know one thing : tell me, — if your art 

Can tell so much, — shall Banquo's issue ever 

Reign in this kingdom ? 

All. Seek to know no more. 

Macbeth. I will be satisfied : deny me this, 
And an eternal curse fall on you I Let me know — 105 
Why sinks that cauldron ? and what noise is this ? 

[Hatithoys. 

lious" but the opposite, and he thanks it for its "good caution" ! As 
Halliwell remarks, "Macbeth was firmly impressed with the belief 
that none of woman born couJd prevent his living 'the lease of nature.' 
Confiding in the literal truth of this prophecy, his fears were concen- 
trated on the probable reappearance of the dead, alluding more espec- 
ially to the ghost of Banquo ; and these fears were then conquered by 
the apparent impossibility of the movement of Birnam wood to Dun- 
sinane. The first prophecy relieves him from the fear of mortals ; the 
second, from the fear of the dead." Thus far Halliwell. To this we 
may add that Macbeth thought he had good reason to fear the dead 
Banquo. The "gory locks" shaken at the king were not forgotten. 
ReheUious dead, rise never, etc. Yes, the rebellious dead Banquo had 
risen twice with twenty mortal murders on his crown, III, iv, 80, 81, 
and Macbeth recognized the intent and probable power of the dead in 
so rising to push us from our stools! This, too, was not a single utter- 
ance of Macbeth, but again and again had he expressed his fear that 
the rebellious dead Banquo would rise again ; so that his wife repeat- 
edly tried in vain to reassure him. " I tell you once again, Banquo 's 
buried: he cannot come out on 's grave" ! V, i, 59, 60. It is said that 
the reading Rehelliori's head, or ReheUious head, meaning a body of in- 
surgents making head against Macbeth, "yields a simpler meaning." 
Possibly it does, though it requires some explanation ; but does not the 
reading of the folios give a more consistent and more truly dramatic 
interpretation? There had been no rebellion yet, nor had any been 
threatened, other than that implied by the horrible phantom shaking its 
blood-boltered locks ; but the dreadful shape that the very night before 
had blanphed his face and made his firm nerves tremble, must have 
haunted him every instant. There is no need of changing dead to head; 
but if we do so change it, let us believe that the head is that of the 
murdered but still living Banquo. — 98. our high-placed Macbeth.- 
For Macbeth to speak thus of himself in the third person is a little un- 
usual, but not very remarkable. The usurping Claudius so speaks in 
Hamlet, I, ii, 44, and Hamlet himself in Hamlet, V, ii, 221-228. Similar 
is the usage in Julius Caesar, IV, iii, 79, 94, and passim. — "So a Greek 
master called himself durb?, autos, himself, in addressing his slaves, 
and the driver of Italian galleys was called the ' nostromo ' (literally 
'our man')." Moheriy. Mr. Fleay believes lines 95 to 100, f rom " b^d 
the tree'''' to " mortal custom^'' inclusive, to be an interpolatipn, probably 
by Middleton. Hudson concurs, and prints them in Italics. Do they 
seem Shakespearian? — 99. lease of nature=:lease for term of life 
[RushtonJ ? Ill, ii, 38, 49; II, ii, 7. — 106. noise = discordant sound? 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. 153 

First Witch. Show ! 
Second W^ltch. Show ! 
Third Witch. Show ! 

All. Show his eyes, and grieve his heart ; 110 

Come like shadows, so depart ! 

A show of eight Kings and Banquo ; last with a glass in 

his hand. 

Macbeth. Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo ; down ! 
Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs. — And thy hair. 
Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. — 
A third is like the former. — Filthy hags ! 115 

Why do you show me this ? — A fourth ! — Start, eyes ! — 
What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom ? — 
Another yet ! — A seventh ! — I'll see no more : — ■ 
And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass 
Which shows me many more ; and some I see 120 

That twofold balls and treble scepters carry : 

music? Milton uses the woi-d of the music of the heavenly host at 
Bethlehem, Hymn on the Nativ., 97; Tempest, III, ii, 130; Spenser, Faerie 
Q., I, xii, 39, speaks of a " heavenly noise." Query, was the music of 
our fathers so bad that it finally gave the word its unfavorable sense? 
or did that sense grow by sympathetic contagion out of the nasal nau- 
seous sound of the woi-df — 110. Show his eyes, etc. From 1 Samuel, 

ii, 33, "to consume thine eyes and to grieve thine heart; and 

all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age." — 
Hautboys. See I, vii, stage direction. — 111. We retain the stage di- 
rection of the folios, merely changing the punctuation, to make the 
statement better accord with line 119. Nearly every commentator in- 
serts something different. — show=:"dumb show" or pantomime [Del- 
ius] ? — Robert II, grandson of Robert Bruce, was the first Stuart king 
(1371) and descended from Banquo? Robert III and the six Jameses 
make up the eight kings, Mary Stuart not being included. — 112. Ban- 
quo. ' 'Banquo first and last ; eight of them being between Banquo blood- 
boltered and Banquo crowned." Weiss. — sear = wither? scorch? dry 
up? V, iii, 23. — 113. hair. The hair of the "spirit of Banquo," III, iv, 
51j especially attracted Macbeth's notice, (so in line 123) ; as weh it 
might (III, iv, 27, 81), Besides he is looking for the crown on each 
head. Johnson changed the word to air. Judiciously? Winter^s Tale, 
V, i, 127. — 116. start, from your sockets [Clark and Wright]? start 
from such a sight [Delius] ? —Hamlet. I, v, 17. — 117. crack of cloom= 
thunder-peal announcing the Last Judgment [Clark and Wright] ? disso- 
lution of nature [Steevens] i Tempest, 1, ii, 203; Macbeth, I, ii, 37. 1 Thcs- 
.salon., iv, 16; Milton, Nativity, st. xvi. — 119. glass. So Measure for 
Meas., II, ii, 95. The magic mirror plays an important part in Green's 
drama of Friar Bacon; also in Spenser's Faerie Q., Ill, ii, st. xviii, et 
seq., and the Sqiiire''s Talein Chaucer. — 121. twofold balls=those of 
the English and Scottish regalias [Moberly] ? referring to the double 
coronation of James, at Scone and Westminster [Clark and Wright] ? 



154 MACBETH. [act iv. 

Horrible sight ! — Now I see 't is true ; 
For the blood-bolter'd Banquo smiles upon me. 
And points at them for his. — [Apparitions vanish. 

What, is this so ? 

First Witch. Ay, sir, all this is so ; but why 125 

Stands Macbeth thus amazedly ? 
Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprights. 
And show the best of our delights : 
I '11 charm the air to give a sound, 

While you perform your antic round, 130 

That this great king may kindly say, 
Our duties did his welcome pay. 
\Music. The Witches dance, and then vanish, with Hecate, 

Macbeth. Where are they ? Gone ? Let this pernicious 
hour 
Stand aye accursed in the calendar ! — 
Come in, without there ! 

Enter Lennox, 

Lennox. What 's your grace's will ? 135 

Macbeth. Saw you the weird sisters ? 

Lennox. No, my lord. 

Macbeth. Came they not by you ? 

Lennox. No inde<^d, my lord. 

Macbeth. Infected be the air whereon they ride ; 

probably symbolizing the two independent crowns of England and Scot- 
land [Hudson] ^ referring to the two islands (and three kingdoms) first 
united under one head [Warburton] ? — In the ceremony of coronation a 
ball was placed in the left hand as one of the insignia of royalty. -- 
treble sceptres, of England, Scotland, Ireland? — 123. blood-bol- 
tered. Boltered is shown by Malone and others to mean, in Warwick- 
shire, "with hair matted or clotted." See Bolfe, Furness, or Clar^h and 
Wright. — Hudson, and Clark and Wright, print in Italics, as spurious, 
lines 125-132. Justly?— 127, sprights. This spelling is preferred when 
the word does not mean apparitions. II, iii, 60; III, v, 27. — 130. antic, 
spelled also antique in the old editions = grotesque? old-fashioned? 
quaint? fanciful? Lat. <x?(fe, before ; antiquus, old; Fr. antique. — Doublet 
of antique, which is found in Twelfth Night, II, iv, 3; iJamZet, I, v, 172; 
II, ii, 455. Accent in both is on 1st syl. — round=round clay? circular 
dance? Lat. rota, wheel ; roto, I whirl ; -undus, adj. ending, active ; rotun ■ 
dus, round.— 132. duties. Seel, iv, 24. 134. aye— yea? always? A. S. 
«, dwa, dwo, ever, always ; akin to Gr. atwi', aion, an age, eternity, aei, aei, 
always; Lat. cevun, an age. — Aye, meaning yes, is fr. A. S. (/e, also; ged,. 
yea; Aryan |/ya, that one. Theorig. sense was 'in that way,' 'just so'*, 
Ger. ia. Skcat. Difference of pronunciation when it means ye«? — ac- 
cursed, etc. Alluding to an old custom of marking down lucky and un- 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. I55 

And damn'd all those that trust them ! — I did hear 

The galloping of horse : who was 't came by ? 140 

Lennox. 'T is two or three, my lord, that bring you word 
Macduff is fled to England. 

Macbeth. Fled to England ! 

Lennox. Ay, my good lord. 

Macbeth. \A8ide.^ Time, thou anticipat'st my dread ex- 
ploits : 
The flighty purpose never is o'ertook 145- 

Unless the deed go with it. From this moment 
The very firstlings of my heart shall be 
The firstlings of my hand. And even now. 
To crown my thoughts .with acts, be it thought and done ; 
The castle of Macduff I will surprise, 150 

Seize upon Fife, give to the edge o' the sword 
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls 
That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool ; 
This deed I '11 do before this purpose cool. 
But no more sights ! — Where are these gentlemen ? 155^ 
Come, bring me where they are. \^Exeunt, 

lucky days in the almanacs . Hudson. — 144. anticipat'st = prevent- 

est? forestaUest ? Lat. anti, old form of ante, before; capere, to- 
take; anticipare, to take before the time, prevent. — 145. flighty 
= volatile? capricious? fleeting? A. S. fledgan, to flee; flyht, flight. 
From |/ FLU, to float (in air), to flow, answering to ]/ plu, to swim. 

— o'ertook. Abbott, 343. AlVs Well, V, iii, 40-43. — 147. firstlings. 
The ending -ling (fr. A. S. ling) denotes state, condition, or off- 
spring. It is also diminutive, as -I and -ing are both suffixes im- 
plying diminution, as in darling, gosling, duckling, seedling, etc. See 
changeling, Hamlet, V, ii, 53. Meaning here ? — 150. castle of Mac- 
duflf. Probably Dunne-marle Castle, near Culross, on the north side 
of the Forth, in Perthshire, about 19 m. W. N. W. of Edinburgh. — 
153. trace hiin=follow him? follow in his track [Clark and Wright] ? 
Ital. tracciare, f r. supposed Lat. tractidre, to trace ; tractus, drawn ; tra- 
here, to draw lines. Brachet. Fr. trace, a trace, footing, foot-print. 
Cotgrave. Fr. tracer, to trace, follow, pursue. — Scan the line by mak- 
ing 5 accented syllables?— Jfe wry VIIT, III, ii, 44, 45 ; 1 Henry IV, III, i, 48. 

— 155. sights. White changes this to sprites; Singer, to flights? Is 
either an improvement? — "When the powers of evil have made sure of 
Macbeth as their victim, they 'show his eyes and grieve his heart' with 
a vision of kings of the race of Banquo, dance round him in mockery 
and vanish." Morlcy. 



156 MACBETH. [act iy. 

Scene II. Fife. A Moom in Macdu-ff^h Castle. 
Enter Lady Macduff, her Son, and Ross. 

Lady 3Iacduff. What had he done, to make him fly the 
land ? 

Hoss. You must haYe patience, madam. 

Lady Macduff. He had none ; 

His flight was madness : when our actions do not, 
Our fears do make us traitors. 

Itoss. You know not 

Whether it was his wisdom or his fear. 5 

Lady Macduff. Wisdom ! to leaYe his wife, to leave his 
babes. 
His mansion and his titles, in a place 
From whence himself does fly ? He Ioycs us not ; 
He wants the natural touch : for the poor wren, 
The most diminutiYC of birds, will fight, 10 

Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. 
AH is the fear, and nothing is the Ioyc ; 
As little is the wisdom, where the flight 
So runs against all reason. 

Hoss. My dearest coz, 

I pray you, school yourself ; but for your husband, 15 

He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows 

Scene II. — Tradition locates these murders at Macduff's castle. 
See line 150 preceding- scene. — "The present Earl of Fife, James Duff, 
1868, who is also Viscount Macduff, is lineally descended from the Mac- 
duff of the play." French^ quoted by Furness. — 4. traitors. The 
treachery alluded to is Macduff's desertion of his family [Seymour, 
Rolfe, etc.] ? The lady is apprehensive that her husband's flight will 
he construed as proceeding from a guilty fear [Hudson] ? Does she 
mean to say that he is a traitor to his family, or that his fears make 
him appear a traitor to his country? or — ? — 9. touch=sensibility or 
affection? — Anton, and Cleop., I, ii, 172. — Metonymy? — wren, etc. 
Harting objects as follows: 1, The wren is not the smallest; 2, It is 
doubtful if it will fight against the owl in defense of its young; 3, The 
owl will not take young birds from the nest. May we mentally sup- 
ply "nay, even," before "the most diminutive," give Shakes, the bene- 
fit of the doubt, and acquit the owl of intent to kidnap? — 12. All is 
the fear=the fear is everything?— 15. for. Hamlet, I, ii, 112; v, 139; 
Richard II, V, iii, 137. The sense of as for, as regards, arises from the 
orig. sense, viz. "beyond," "before," or "in place of." Abbott, 148, 149; 
Skeat. — A. S. for, same as fore, before that; akin to Lat. pro; Gr. 
Trpo, pro; Sanscr. pra, before, away. — 14. coz; "short for cousin, but 
applied by Shakes, to uncle, nephew, brother-in-law; and, by princes, 
toother princes and noblemen." See Hamlet, I, ii, 64. — French cousin, 
fr. Low Lat. cosimis, fr. Lat. consobrinus, the child of a mother's sister; 



SCENE n.] MACBETH. 157 

The fits o' the season. I dare not speak much further ; 

But cruel are the times, when we are traitors 

And do not know ourselves ; when we hold rumor 

From what we fear, yet know not what we fear, 20 

But float upon a wild and violent sea 

Each way and move. I take my leave of you ; 

Shall not be Ions; but I '11 be here as^ain. 

Things at the worst will cease, or else climb upward 

To what they were before. My pretty cousin, 25 

Blessing upon you ! 

Lady Macduff. Father'd he is, and yet he 's fatherless. 

Ross. I am so much a fool, should I stay longer, 
It would be my disgrace and your discomfort : 

C071, together; sohrinus, a cousin-german by tlie mother's side; snhri- 
nus, from sos-hrinus, for sus-trinns^ fr. stem sos-tor, sister: sosnr, old 
form, of so7'or. Base i/swestar. Bracket^ Skeat^ Max Milller. — 17. fits 
of= what befits [Heath] i temper of [Singer] \ violent disorders, con- 
vulsions of [Steevens] 'i critical conjunctures of [Clark and Wright] \ 
exigencies or dangers of [Hudson] ? caprices or uncertainties of 
[Rolfe] ? — Coriolanus, IH, ii, 33, "The violent fit o' the time craves it 
as a physic For the whole state." — IceL.^Ufl, to knit together; Norse 
dial. fltJti^ to draw a lace together in a noose; Swed. fiW^^- to bind to- 
gether. Skeat. Shakes, in Tempest, HI, iii, 88 to 91, neatly illustrates 
this orig. meaning, " My high charms work, And these mine enemies 
are all knit up In their distractions; they now are in my power; And 
in these .^^s• I leave them." — Fit, meaning a sudden attack of illness, 
though allied to the preceding, is ^'originally 'a step' ; then 'a part of 
a poem' ; then 'a bout of fighting, a struggle' ; lastly, 'a sudden attack 
of pain.' A. S. fit, a song, a struggle. Akin to Icel. fet, a pace, step, 
foot in poetry, part of a poem." Skeat. — 19. do not know, etc.=are 
not conscious of the fact? — liold=interpret [Heath] ? accept or circu- 
late [Dalgieish] I believe [Steevens] ? originate? — hold rumor, etc., 
our fears, though vague, engender rumors [our Masterpieces, p. 158]? 
— King John, TV, ii, l-ii-li". — 32. each "way and move. For way, 
Staunton would substitute siray; Jackson, wafL For more, Theobald 
would read wave; Clark and Wright, none; Jackson, moan; for aiid 
move, Daniel would have it moves. So Hudson prints it. Johnson puts 
a dash after move, to indicate incompleteness. Steevens would read 
and each icay move; Capell, and move each way; Ingleby, which way we 
■move. Rolfe suggests, cacli way we move. As float is properly express- 
ive of horizontal motion, it by no means includes the tossing of "a wila 
and violent sea." May not moi'e.then, be simply movement, enlargingthe 
sense of float to make it include the violent pitching and reeling, mount- 
ing and plunging : that is, each way and moi'e=each horizontal and every 
other motion? Or we may with Schmidt interpret more to mean toss 
about; as perhaps in Cymheline, HI, i, 28, q. v. Float is fr.| flu,] flut, to 
flow; Icel. fljota, to float; A. S. floia, a ship; fleotan. Mid. Eng. flatten, 
to swim.— 23. shall. -'When there can be no doubt what is the noun, 
it is sometimes omitted." Ahhott, 399. —24. What is the picture in the 
mind's ej-e? — 28. fool. The immortal Launcelot says as he departs 
from Jessica, " These foolish drops do somewhat drown my manly 



158 MACBETH. [act iv. 

I take my leave at once. [Exit. 

Lady Macduff. Sirrah, your father 's dead : 30 

And what will you do now ? How will you live ? 
Son. As birds do, mother. 

Lady Macduff. What, with worms and flies ? 

Son. With what I get, I mean ; and so do they. 
Lady Macduff'. Poor bird ! thou 'dst never fear the net 
nor lime. 
The pitfall nor the gin. 35 

Son. Why should I, mother ? Poor birds they are not 
set for. 
My father is not dead, for all your saying. 

Lady Macduff. Yes, he is dead : how wilt thou do for 

a father ? 
Son. Nay, how will you do for a husband ? 
Lady Macduff. Why, I can buy me twenty at any 
market. 40 

Son. Then you '11 buy 'em to sell again. 
Lady Macduff. Thou speak'st with all thy wit, and yet, 
i' faith. 
With wit enough for thee. 

Son. Was my father a traitor, mother ? 

Lady Macduff. Ay, that he was. 45 

Son. What is a traitor ? 



spirit." Mer. of Ven., II, iii, 11, 12. Rom. and Jul., Ill, ii, 102. So 
Henry F, IV, vi, 30-32, 

"But I had not so much of man in me, 

And aU my mother came into mine eyes 

And gave me up to tears.'" 

30. sirrah. Ill, i, 44; Much Ado, IV, ii, 12, 13.— dead. Rough joking? 
— 32. with worms. So, "Hive with bread." Richard II, III, ii, 175 ; 
1 Henry IV, III, i, 160; Macbeth, V, v, 13. With often expresses "the 
juxtaposition of cause and effect." Abbott, 193. — 34. lime. Tempest, 
IV, i, 241; Hamlet, III, iii, 68. A S. iim, bitumen, cement; Icel. lim, 
glue ; Mid. High Ger. lim, birdlime ; akin to Lat. limus, mud, fr. li-n^re, 
to smear. The orig. sense is "viscous substance." Skeat. — 35. gin. 
Twelfth Night, II, v, 79. In Psalms, cxl, 5, we read, "They have set gins for 
me." — "The word is really Scandinavian, from Icel. ginna, to dupe; but 
the Mid. Eng. gin was also used in a far wider sense, and was (in many 
cases) certainly a contraction of Fr. engin = Lat. ingenium. a contri- 
vance or piece of ingenuity." Skeat. — 36. they =the poor birds [Delius] ? 
the traps? — In what sense is poor used? — "The bright dear boy's 
thought appears to be that traps are not set for the poor, but for the 
rich; not for children, like himself , but for important full-grown men." 
Hudson. Does the boy "consider it so deeply?" — 37. for. "A man's 
a man for a' that." As to uses of for, see Abbott, 153, 154, 155. — 45. he 



SCENF. II.] MACBETH. I59 

Lady Macduff. Why, one that swears and lies. 

Son. And be all traitors that do so ? 

Lady Macduff\ Every one that does so is a traitor, and 
must be hanged. 50 

Son. And must they all be hanged that swear and lie ? 

Lady Macdiff. Every one. 

Son. Who must hang them ? 

Lady Macduff. Why, the honest men. 54 

Son. Then the liars and swearers are fools, for there are 
liars and swearers enow to beat the honest men and hano; 
up them. 

Lady Macduff. Now, God help thee, poor monkey ! 
But how wilt thou do for a father ? 59 

Son. If he were dead, you 'd weep for him : if you 
would not, it were a good sign that I should quickly have 
a new father. 

Lady Macduff. Poor prattler, how thou talk'st ! 

Enter- a Messenger. 

Messenger. Bless you, fair dame ! I am not to you known, 
Though in your state of honor I am perfect. 65 

I doubt some danger does approach you nearly : 
If you will take a homely man's advice, 
Be not found here ; hence, with your little ones. 
To fright you thus, methinks I am too savage ; 
To do worse to you were fell cruelty, 70 

was, a traitor to Macbeth? to his own family? or — ? — 47. swears and 
lies = is guilty of profanity and falsehood? takes an oath and then 
breaks it?— Allusion to the oath of allegiance or loyalty? — 56. enow. 
II, iii, 5. — 65. in your state, etc. = perfectly acquainted with your 
honorable rank and character?— Winter'' s Tale, III, iii, 1 ; Cymbeline, III, 
i, 71 ; i Henry IV, III, i, 203.— 66. doubt=suspect? fear? King John, IV, 
i, 19.— 67. honiely=plain, uncultured?— See Milton's Comus, 748, 749. 
— Home is fr. y'Ki, to lie down. Gr. Kelixai, I lie down, A. S. ham, 
home, a dwelling; Gr. ^06^17, kome, village. The original sense is 
'resting-place.' Skeat. —69. to fright. See note on II, ii, 73. —70. 
to do -worse = to let her and her children be destroyed without 
warning [Johnson] ? to fright you more by relating all the circum- 
stances of danger, which would detain you so long that you could not 
avoid it [Edwards] ?— The messenger was one of the murderers, who, 
actuated by pity and remorse, had outstripped his companions to give 
warning. Heath. Warburton would substitute worship for worse ; Han- 
mer and Capell, less.— tell. Twelfth Night, I, i, 33.— A. S. fel, fierce, dire. 
Possibly connected with felon. Skeat. — 73. Abbott, 496, insists on re- 
ducing this line to five feet; but Ellis says, "I should be sorry to buy 
immunity from Alexandrines at the dreadful price of such Procrustean 



160 MACBETH. [act iv. 

Which is too nigh your person. Heaven preserve you ! 
I dare abide no longer. [JExit. 

Lady Macduff, Whither should I fly ? , 

I have done no harm. But I remember now 
I am in this earthly world, where to do harm 
Is often laudable ; to do good, sometime 75 

Accounted dangerous folly : why then, alas, 
Do I put up that womanly defense. 
To say I have done no harm ? — 

Enter Murderers. 

What are these faces ? 
First Murderer. Where is your husband ? 
Lady Macduff\ I hope, in no place so unsanctified 80 
Where such as thou mayst find him. 

First Murderer. He 's a traitor. 

Son. Thou liest, thou shag-ear'd villain ! 
First Murderer. ' What, you Qgg \ 

[Stabbing him. 

•scansion'." So in V, iii, 5; iv, 6. — 75. sometime. I, vi, 11. — 78. 
faces. The impressive simplicity of the expression contains horrible 
significance. Clarke. — 81. where. The language was very plastic. 
What should we now use in place of where"] — Ahhott, 279. — 82. shag- 
ear'd. with hanging ears [Moberly] ? shaggy about the ears [Collier] ? 
aux oreilles velues, with ears hairy or shaggy [Darmesteter] i— Shag-ear^ d. 
So, or with slightly different spelling, all the folios ; but, as the phrase 
shag-liair'' d is common in the old plays, while shag-ear^d is not, most ed- 
itors adopt Steevens's suggestion of shag-hair'' d. Hair was sometimes 
spelled ?ieare, and shag-heard is found in ILodge^s Incarnate Devils (1596), 
and in 2 Henry VI, III, i, 367, we find shag-hairW. Richard II, II, i, 156, 
"rug-headed kerns." i)yce says, "King Midas, after his decision in 
favor of Pan, is the only human being on record to whom the epithet 
(shag-ear'' d) could be applied." — Nothing would attract a child's notice 
sooner than ears rough with coarse, long hair. To us, the epithet s/jagr- 
ear''d is strikingly picturesque of the human brute, and, as it makes 
excellent sense, we decline to alter it. — Holland, Translation of 
Pliny, viii, 33, speaks of the goat-hart with "long shag about 
the shoulders." In Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis, st. 50, we read 
"fetlocks shag and long."— A. S. sceacga, a bush of hair; Icel. skegg, 
Swed. skdgg, a beard. The orig. sense is "roughness." See "shoughs," 
III, i, 93.— egg. "Think him as a serpent's egg .... And kill him in 
the shell," Julius Coesar, II, i, 32, 34. So "Thou pigeon egg of discre- 
tion,'.' -Love's Labor's Lost,. V, i, 66; Troilus and Cressida, V, i, 34. — 83. 
fry . Suggested by ' 'egg^ ' ? Icel. , fra^, frjo ; Dan. fro ; Fr . frai, spawn, 
fry.— "This scene, dreadful as it is, is still a relief, because a variety, 
because domestic, and therefore soothing, as associated with the only 
real pleasures of life. The conversation between Lady Macduff and 
her child heightens the pathos, and is preparatory for the deep tragedy 
of their assassination." Colerid(/c. —Its verisimilitude? Character of 



SCENE II.] MACBETH. 161 

Young fry of treachery ! 

So7i. He has kill'd me, mother : 

Run away, I pray you ! [Dies. 

[Exit Lady Macduff, crying " Murder ! " 
Exeunt Murderers, following her. 

Scene III. England. Before the King^s Palace. 
Enter Malcolm and Macduff. 

Malcolm. Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there 
Weep our sad bosoms empty. 

Macdiff. Let us rather 

Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men 
Bestride our downfall birthdom. Each new morn 
New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows 5 

Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds 
As if it felt with Scotland and yell'd out 
Like syllable of dolor. 

Malcolm. What I believe, I '11 wail ; 

What know, believe ; and what I can redress. 
As I shall find the time to friend, I will. 10 

Lady Macduff? — "To omit this scene, as is usually the case upon the 
stage, is to present Macbeth' s character in a far more favorable light 
than Shakespeare intended, and to weaken the force of Macduff's cry 
of agony, and Lady Macbeth' s heart-piercing question in the sleep- 
walking scene." Bodenstedt. 

Scene III. — Was this scene inside or outside the palace? Line 
140. — 3. mortal. I, v, 39. — good= brave?— Gr. ayado';, a-ya06^ aga- 
thos, noble, good, brave; A. S. god; Ger. gut; from Teut, base / gad, 
to suit, fit. The criterion or test of goodness will be different in differ- 
ent communities? — 4. bestride. Picture? Comedy of Er.^ V, i, 192; 
2 Henry IF, I, i, 207; Julius Coesar, I, ii, 131.— downfall. So the folios. 
But nearly all recent editors change it to down-falVn which makes the 
metre tumble clumsily. "As still with us, any noun could be prefixed to 
another with the force of an adjective; as 'region kites,' 'region cloud,' 
'ver;om mud,' etc." Abbott, 22.— birthdom =land of our -birth [Clark 
and Wright] — Do m is Ger. -thum; Lat. -tium; Sanscr. tvan; and de- 
notes quality, as wisdom; act, as martyrdom; state, as thraldom, freedom; 
appurtenances ov possessions, as dukedom; by metonymy the collective con- 
crete, as Christendom, peerdom. Our Masterpieces, p. 160. — 6. strike 
heaven. Note the intensity of the language. Tempest , I, ii, 4 ; Mer. 
of Venice, II, vii, 45. Richard III, IV, iv, 239.— that. I, ii, 58.-8. like 
=as? similar? — syllable = utterance, inarticulate cry? — Gr. avWa^^, 
sullabe, lit. "that which holds together," hence a syllable, so much of 
a word as forms a single sound ; o-vi', sun, together ; Aa/3, lab, base of 
XaixpaveLv, lambanein, to take, seize. Skeat. — 10. to friend=as, or for, 
a friend^ friendly? to befriend^ See to in Matthew, iii, 9; Luke, xx, 30, 



162 MACBETH. [act iv. 

What you have spoke, it may be so perchance. 

This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues, 

Was once thought honest : you have lov'd him well ; 

He hath not touch'd you yet. I am young ; but something 

You may discern of him through me, and wisdom 15 

To offer up a weak poor innocent lamb 

To appease an angry god. 

Macduff. I am not treacherous. 

Malcolm. But Macbeth is. 

A good and virtuous nature may recoil 
In an imperial charge. But I shall crave your pardon ; 30 
That which you are my thoughts cannot transpose ; 
Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell ; 
Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, 

33; Abbott^ 189; Julius Ccesar, III, i, 144. — 11. Wiiat=as to what! — Is it 
redundant? Abbott, 24:3, 2b2. — 12. sole=mere? single? only?— name 
blisters! "A glass of water to rinse my mouth after pronouncing that 
name!" Wendell Phillips.— Rom. and Jul., Ill, ii, 90; Lov6''s L. L., V, ii, 
837; Winter's T., II, ii, 33.— 14. touch'd. Ill, ii, 26.-15. discern. 
So the 3d and 4th folios. The 1st and 2d have discerne. Nearly 
every editor follows Theobald's suggestion and prints deserve, which 
makes good sense. But discern also makes good sense ; and therefore, 
agreeably to our principles of interpretation, we adhere to it. Mal- 
colm does not fully believe Macduff lionest, and says, "You have loved 
Macbeth well. He has done you no harm yet. I am young, but (young 
as I am, I could tell you of many diabolical plots of Macbeth to get 
me into his power, so that) you could discern something of Macbeth's 
character through my disclosures and his treatment of me. (Macbeth 
knows that I know some of those designs, and therefore hates me the 
more. You may be one of his tools, and; you may find it a piece of 
worldly wisdom to entrap me and gratify him." So read between the 
lines. Macduff may not have known the facts stated in lines 117-120. 
Upton prefers to retain 'discern,' and explains it, "You may see 
something to your advantage by betraying me." Clarke (1863) plaus- 
ibly interprets thus : I am young, but something you may perceive of 
Macbeth in me [Malcolm has stated that Macbeth ' was once thought 
honest', and afterwards taxes himself with vices]. See lines 58, 
82, 83, 91, etc. — and wisdom = and it is wisdom? it were wis- 
dom ? or is wisdom the object of the preceding verb discern ? 
It is, there is, and is are often omitted in Shakes. Abbott, 40G. — 
19. recoil = recede from goodness [Johnson]? yield, give way, 
swerve, etc. [Clark and Wright] ? degenerate [Schinidt] ? — Cymbel- 
ine, I, vi, 128. — French reculer, to recoil, retire; lit. "to go back- 
ward"; re (=Lat. re), back, and cul (Lat. cuius), the hinder part; 
Gael, cul; Skeat. — 20. charge=the charge of an army [El win] ? com- 
mission [Johnson] ? " Perhaps Shakes, had in mind the recoil of a 
gun." Clark arid Wright. In one imperial charge=:when acting by a 
king's command [Moberly] ? I, iii, 129. — 21. transpose=:invert, trans- 
form, change? Mid. NighVs Dream, I, i, 233. — 22. the brightest fell. 
So Milton thought. Par. Lost, v, 659, 680, 708; i, 86, 87, 592, 599, 600.— 
23. would=wished to ? should? were to? Abbott, SSI. Line 194; I, v, 



SCENE III.] MACBETH, 163 

Yet grace must still look so. 

Macduff. I have lost my hopes. 

Malcolm. Perchance even there where I did find my 
doubts. 25 

Why in that rawness left your wife and child, 
Those precious motives, those strong knots of love, 
Without leave-taking ? I pray you. 
Let not my jealousies be your dishonors. 
But mine own safeties : you may be rightly just, 30 

Whatever I shall think. 

Macduff. Bleed, bleed, poor country ! 

Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure, 
For goodness dare not check thee ! wear thou thy wrongs ; 
The title is afeard ! — Fare thee well, lord : 

20; vii, 34. — 24. so=like grace? Meas. /or Meas., II, i, 268. — have lost, 
etc. Why so? On what did his hopes depend? — 25. even there 
where, etc. = perhaps the cause which has destroyed your hopes is 
the very same that leads me to distrust you [Hudson] ? Does the pan- 
gent question in the next two and a half lines reveal sufficiently^ the 
cause of the distrust, which distrust was the cause of the loss of hope? 
— 26. rawness = want of due preparation and provision [Schmidt] ? 
immaturity of counsel [Johnson] ? — Henry F, IV, i, 134, 'children rawly 
left.' — A. S. firedw, hrau\ Dan. raa; allied to Lat. crudus^ raw; Sanscr. 
krura, sore, cruel, hard; ]/ kru, of which the fundamental notion is 
'to be hard.' Sneat. The suffix -ness is found in about 1300 words. 
A. S. nes, nis, nys. It forms abstract nouns from adjectives, and de- 
notes quality, as goodness; by a metonymy of the abstract for the con- 
crete, something possessing the quality, as a fastness, a likeness. Oihbs. 
—27. motives. Frequently applied to persons in Shakes. Delius. Like 
knots, is it connected with the phrase, 'of love'? — Timon of Athens, V, 
iv, 27. — 29. jealousies . . . dishonors, . . . safeties. "The plu- 
ral [jealousies] indicates the repeated occasions for his suspicion .... 
and this plural occasioned the two others." Delius. Satisfactory ex- 
planation? — 30. An extra syl. is frequently added before a pause, es- 
pecially at the end of a line ; but also at the end of the second foot ; and 
less frequently at the end of the third foot; and rarely at the end of 
the fourth foot . Abhott, 454. At the end of the first foot, too, occa- 
sionally; as in Tempest, II, i, 316, "That's verily. 'Tis best we stand 
upon our guard." — 33. thou. Who? Tyranny [Knight] ? Malcolm [Sing- 
er] ? Country [Toilet] ? — wrongs thou dost inflict ? wrongs thou dost suf- 
fer under?— 34. afeard. So the 4th folio; the 3d has a/ear'd; the 1st and 
2d affear'd. Seel, iii, 96; vii, 39.— PTTjose title is 'afeard' or 'affeer'd'? 
Macbeth's? thecountry's? tyranny's? Malcolm's? Nearly all the editors 
change this to affeer''d, meaning confirmed; but they do not bring any 
other instance of such use of the verb affeer. Low Lat. a#orare= to fix 
the price of a thing; Old Fr. afeurer^io fix the price of things oflQcially. 
To 'affeer' was to assess a fine or fix a penalty, reducing it to a sum 
certain. Shakespeare's father is said to have been an 'affeeror,' i. e., 
an attache of the Stratford borough court. How then could a title be 
'affeered'? Again, to say "the title is a#eer'd," meaning confirmed, is 
prose; but the trope of the title for the rightful heir (as Darmesteter in- 



164 MACBETH. [act iv. 

I would not be the villain that thou think'st 35 

For the whole space that 's in the tyrant's grasp, 
And the rich East to boot. 

Malcolm. Be not offended : 

I speak not as in absolute fear of you. 
I think our country sinks beneath the yoke ; 
It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash 40 

Is added to her wounds : I think withal 
There would be hands uplifted in my right ; 
And here from gracious England have I offer 
Of goodly thousands ; but for all this. 
When I shall tread upon the tyrant's head, 45 

Or wear it on my sword, yet my poor country 
Shall have more vices than it had before. 
More suffer, and more sundry ways than ever, 
By him that shall succeed. 

Macduff. What should he be ? 

Malcolm. It is myself I mean ; in whom I know 50 

All the particulars of vice so grafted 
That, when they shall be open'd, black Macbeth 
Will seem as pure as snow, and the poor state 
Esteem him as a lamb, being compar'd 
With my confineless harms. 

Macduff. Not in the legions 55 

terprets) , or the personification of the title, and the imputation of f ear^ 
are poetry, and Shakespearian. Besides, to say the title is afraid is a 
polite form of i-eproof of Malcolm for timidity ; and so Malcolm, in 
line 38, evidently thinks himself chided, or at least blamed, for being- 
in fear. Still further, note that in line 104, instead of recognizing- 
Macbeth' s title as confirmed, Macduff denies that he has any title at 
all. — 37. rich East. Milton's ' gorgeous East with richest hand,' 
Var. Lost, ii, 3. — to boot. A. S. hot, compensation, amends, advan- 
tage, profit ; Gothic hota, profit ; allied to A. S. bet, good. 'To boot' is 
literally 'for an advantage.' It is not a verb. Skeat. — 2 Henry IF, 
III, i, 29.— Milton's Lycidas, 64. — 39. thiiilt=bearin mind the fact that 
[Rolfe]? believe? Ill, i, 13i.— 43. gracious. Ill, i, 65; HamleU I, i, 
164.— England=the English nation? the king of England? I, U, .50; 
King John, III, iv, 8, 'And bloody England into England gone.' See 
our ed. of Hamlet, note on I, i, 61. — 47. shall. See III, iv, 57. — 48. 
sundry. A. S. sundrian, to put asunder; Ger. sondern, to separate; 
Mid. Eng. sundry, separate ; hence several, divers. — In adverbial ex- 
pressions of time, space, manner, etc., we very often still omit the 
preposition. Abbott, 202.-49. What = who? what kind of being? 
Abbott, 254. — should he = ought he to? might he? can he? Abbott, 
324, 325. —52. open'd = unfolded, like buds or leaves? Metaphor in 
grafted and openedf The Collier MS. has ripen'd, which Collier insists 
on.— 55. contineless=:limitless, boundless? incapable of restraint or 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 165 

Of horrid hell can come a devil more damn'd 
In evils to top Macbeth. 

Malcolm. I grant him bloody, 

Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, 
Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin 
That has a name ; but there 's no bottom, none, 60 

In my voluptuousness ; your wives, your daughters, 
Your matrons and your maids, could not fill up 
The cistern of my lust ; and my desire 
All continent impediments would o'erbear 
That did oppose my will. Better Macbeth 65 

Than such an one to reign. 

Macduff. Boundless intemperance 

In nature is a tyranny ; it hath been 
The untimely emptying of the happy throne, 
And fall of many kings. But fear not yet 
To take upon you what is yours ; you may 70 

Convey your pleasures in a spacious plenty, 

continement ? — French conflner, to abut, or bound upon; Lat. conflnis, 
bordering upon; confinium a boundary; co7i, together; finis, boundary, 
limit. — -less is fr. A. S. leas, loose, free from ; -less is the commonest 
sufSx in Eng. Skeat. — 57. top=overtop, surpass? — "Edmund the base 
shall top the legitimate"; Lear, I, ii, 16; Coriolanus, II, i, 19. — 58. 
luxurious. In Shakes, always in the patristic Lat. sense of lascivi- 
ous, licentious. See luxury in Hamlet, I, v, 83. 'Lat. luxuria, an ex- 
tended form of luxus, pomp, excess, luxury' ; remotely allied to licere, 
to be lawful, whence licence. — 59. sudden=violent, passionate, hasty 
[Johnson] ? — Lat. suh, under, stealthily ; w-e, to go ; subire, to go under 
or stealthily; subitus, sudden, lit. 'that which has come stealthily.' 
Low Lat. subitanus; Pro v. Fr. sobtan; Old Fr. sodain, siidain; Fr. 
soudain. Skeat, Bracket. — 64. coiitinent=restraining? Lat. con, to- 
gether, completely ; tenere, to hold, keep. Used in Latin sense, as here, 
in Mid. NighVs Dream, II, i, 92. Lear, I, ii, 145 ; III, ii, 53. Effect of 
Latinized diction? See note on II, ii, 62. — 66. an or a, as in line 101. 
How did Shakes, pronounce one? White says it is like the first syl. 
of only or the one of alone. White's Shakespeare, vol. xii, pp. 426, 427. 
See III, iv, 130; V, viii, 74. — 67. in nature belongs to tyranny, i. e., in- 
temperance is of the nature of a tyranny [Delius] ? to intemperance, 
meaning in its nature [Rolfe] ? to intemperance, meaning want of 
control over the natural appetites [Clark and Wright, who prefer, 
however, the explanation of Delius] ? — tyranny=usurpation [Clark 
and Wright] ? despotic oppression? See III, vi, 25. — 69. yet = still? 
notwithstanding? A. S. get is probably a contraction of ge, and, also, 
and to, in the direction of; ge to meaning 'and to', i. e., moreover. 
Skeat. — 71. convey=:conduct, direct [Clark and Wright] ? gather in, 
in a spacious plenty, i. e., in an abundant harvest [writer in Black- 
wood^ s Maga., Oct., 1853] ? indulge secretly [Schmidt] ? manage secretly 
and artfully [Dyce] ? In Merry Wives of W., I, iii, 26, we have Ancient 
Pistol's euphemism for steal, like the term confiscate in the foraging 
expeditions during our civil war, "Convey, the wise it call. Steal ! fob 1 



166 MACBETH. [act lY. 

And yet seem cold, the time you may so hoodwink. 

We have willing dames enough ; there cannot be 

That vulture in you to devour so many 

As will to greatness dedicate themselves, 75 

Finding it so inclin'd. 

Malcolm. With this there grows 

In my most ill-compos'd affection such 
A stanchless avarice that, were I king, 
I should cut off the nobles for their lands, 
Desire his jewels and this other's house ; 80 

And my more-having would be as a sauce 
To make me hunger more, that I should forge 
Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal. 
Destroying them for wealth. 

Macduff. This avarice 

Sticks deeper, grows with more pernicious root 85 

Than summer-seeming lust, and it hath been 
The sword of our slain kings : yet do not fear ; 
Scotland hath foisons to fill up your will. 
Of your mere own. All these are portable, 

a fico (i. e., fig) for the phrase !" — l^ear. I, ii, 92; Richard II, IV, i, 316. 
— The Collier MS. has 'enjoy,' by which Singer thinks the sense is 
improved. Correctly? more poetic? — 72. time. I, v, 61; vii, 81. — 
hood"ivink. A. S. hod, a hood ; allied to Ger. hut, a hat ; hoodwink, to 
make one wink or close his eyes by covering him with a hood. Sheat. 
Dalgleish makes the word "a translation of Holinshed's, 'that no man 
shall be aware thereof." — 74. that is still used provincially f or srtc/j. 
and so. Ahbott, 277. Hamlet, I, ii, 171; v, 48. — 77. ill -composed = 
compounded of evil qualities? ill-assorted? In Troil. and Cres., IV, iv^ 

77, we have 'well-composed.' — aflFection^ disposition? character? — 

78. stanchless = insatiable? Lat. stagndre, to cease to flow, form a 
still pool, be still ; Late Lat. stanca, a dam ; Low Lat. stancare, to stop the 
flow of blood; OldPr. '■estancher, to stanch, stop issue of blood, slake or 
quench hunger, thirst,' etc. Skeat, Worcester.— 80. his. Noteemphasis 
and antithesis. Ahhott, 217.— 82. that. I, ii, 58; Ahbott, 283. — forge. 
Lat. fahricare, to frame, construct; /a&rica, workshop. Successively 
shortened in Fr. to fabrica, faurca, faurga, forga, forge. Brachet. Mid. 
Eng. forgen, to forge. Used in Shakes, in looth a good and a bad sense. — 
86. summer-seeming:=appearing to belong to the hey-day of summer 
and to pass with it [Moberly ] ? burning awhile like summer, and like sum- 
mer passing away [Hudson] ? befitting or looking like summer [Clark 
and Wright] ? Donne in Love'' s Alchemy speaks of 'a winter-seeming sum- 
mer'snight.' — 88. foisor!is=plenty, abundance. — Lat. /widgre, to pour, 
fusus, poured ; fusio, a pouring forth with plenty ; Fr. foison, plenty, 
abundance, profusion. Tempest, II, i, 160; IV, i, 110; Sonnets, liii, 9.-89. 
mere. From |/ mar, to gleam, as in marble; Lat. merus, pure, un- 
mixed. The orig. sense is "bright." S/reaf.— Line 152. Mer. of Ven., Ill, 
ii, 257 ; Tempest, I, i,5l.— Abbott, 15. — portabIe=endurable? Lat. portdre^ 



SCENE III.] MACBETH, 167 

With other graces weigh'd. 90 

Malcolm. But I have none : the king-becoming graces, 

As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, 

Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowlinesc. 

Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude, 

I have no relish of them, but abound 95 

In the division of each several crime. 

Acting it many ways. Nay, had I power, I should 

Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell. 

Uproar the universal peace, confound 

All unity on earth. 

Macduf. O Scotland, Scotland ! 100 

Malcolm. If such a one be fit to govern, speak : 

I am as I have spoken. 

Macduff, Fit to govern ! 

No, not to live. — O nation miserable ! 

With an untitled tyrant, bloody-scepter'd, 

When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again, 105 

Since that the truest issue of thy throne 

By his own interdiction stands accurs'd. 

And does blaspheme his breed ? — Thy royal father 

Was a most sainted king : the queen that bore thee, 

to carry; portabilis, bearable. — Lear, III, vi, 106. — 90. weigh'd.=coun- 
terpoised? — Weighed wit/i=coutiterbalanced by [RolfeJ ? compensated 
by [Clark and Wright] ? — 91. king-becoming. What grace or 
graces has he omitted? — 92. verity=veracity? sincerity? honesty?— 
temperance = moderation? self-restraint? Lat. tempits, fit season, 
time ; tempori, seasonably ; temperdre, to apportion, moderate, regulate. 
— iJrtmiet, III, ii, 7.- -93. perseverance. Accent! Persever is always 
ace. on 2d syl. in Shakes.— 95. relish of=relish /or? smack or flavor 
of [Rolfe, Clark and Wright, etc.] ?— Line 59 ; Hamlet, III, iii, 92 ; 2 Henry 
IV, I, ii, 91. Old Fr. relecher, "to lick over again." Cotgrave. Lat. 
re, again; Gr. Aeixeiv, leichein; Lat. lingere; A. S. liccian, to lick. — 98. 
milk:, etc. I, v, 15. To make hell concordant? to destroy or pervert 
the milk?— 99. uproar = disturb by uproar [Clark and Wright]? 
Uprear, uproot, uptear, have been proposed as substitutes. Well? — 
The kindred and equivalent German aufrulir forms a verb, aufriihren, 
to stir up. —104. untitled. Does this word tend to show that title in 
line 34 means a rightful title ?— 105. wholesome. Hamlet, III, ii, 298 ; iv, 
65. .Teutonic type ^ haila, hale, whole ; Gr. /caXos, kalos, excellent, hale , 
A. S. hdl, whole. The u is an intruder in the word. -Some is A. S. 
-sum, same; allied to Gr. 6/1x65, same; Lat. similis, like. It means (1) 
like, as in darksome, dark-like; frolicsome, frolic-like; (2) inclined to, 
as gamesome, inclined to game or sport ; (3) apt to, as meddlesome, apt 
to meddle; wholesome, apt to heal. Gihhs.—IOQ. That. Since that is 
parallel to Fr. puisque. AhJjott, 287, relates the origin of this use. — 
108. blaspheme ==: slander, the orig. sense of the word [Clark and 
Wright] ? — Gr. ^\aa(f)rifj.elv, blasphemeim; fr. i3Aa»//i?, blapsis, damage; 



168 MACBETH. ' [act iv. 

Oftener upon her knees than on her feet, 110 

Died every clay she liv'd.— Fare thee well ! 

These evils thou repeat'st upon thyself 

Have banish'd me from Scotland. — O my breast, 

Thy hope ends here ! 

Malcolm. Macduif , this noble passion, 

Child of integrity, hath from my soul 115 

Wi^jyd the black scruples, reconcil'd my thoughts 
To thy good truth and honor. Devilish Macbeth 
By many of these trains hath sought to win me 
Into his power, and modest wisdom plucks me 
From over-credulous haste : but God above 120 

Deal between thee and me ! for even now 
I put myself to thy direction, and 
Unspeak mine own detraction, here abjure 
The taints and blames I laid upon myself. 
For strangers to my nature. I am yet 135 

Unknown to woman, never was forsworn, 
Scarcely have coveted what was mine own, 

(^T/jai, phemi, I say. A doublet of Mame. Skeat. — breed = breeding ? 
race? birth? parentage [Rolfe] ? — Welsli hrwd, warm? A. S. hre- 
dan, to nourish, keep warm ; {hrod) , brid, a young one, especially a bird ; 
Dutch hroed^ a brood ; Ger. hrut^ levy of young, brood. Richard II, II, 
i, 45, 51, 52, 'This happy breed (race) of men,' 'royal kings, Fear'd 
by (because of ) their breed' (birth). — 111. died every day=lived a 
life of daily mortification (of the flesh by castigation) [Delius] ? every 
day was a preparation for death [Clark and Wright] ? died to sin and 
lived to righteousness, 1 Peter, II, 24? Doubtless Shakes., who was 
much better acquainted with the Bible than most of his commentators, 
had in mind Paul's declaration, 1 Corinthians, xv, 31, "I die daily." 
So " die from sin and rise again unto righteousness " in the baptismal 
oflQce of the P. B. —liv'd. So the folios; but some editors, anxious to 
make ten syllables in the line, print lived = liv-ed. Pope inserts Oh 
before fare! Walker, Dyce, Rolfe and others make /are a dissyl., /a-w. 
Ahhott, 4:S0. White thinks Hri'd is a dissyl. But what more natural 
than that a long pause should fill out the line? I, ii, 5. See our note 
on Hamlet, I, i, 129, 132, 135. — 118. trains = lures, enticements: arti- 
fices? — Lat. trah^re, to draw; Low. Lat. trahinare, to drag; Mid. Eng. 
trainen, to entice ; train, trayn ' with the sense of plot ' ; Old Fr. 
'trame, a plot, practice, conspiracy.' Cotgr^ave. — Comns, 151, has, "Now 
to my charms and to my wily trains." — A technical term both in hawk- 
ing and hunting ; in hawking, for the lure ; in hunting, for the bait. 
Edinburgh Review, October, 1872. — Comedy of Er., Ill, ii, 45. — 123. un- 
speak. So 'unsay,' Richard 71, IV, i, 9; 'unkiss,' Richard TI, V, i, 
74; 'uncurse,' Ricliard II, III, ii, 137. — 125. for = as being; Abhott,ii8. 
Compare /or in "What do you take me for? " — 126. forsw^orn. The 
prefix /or-, allied to A. S. faran, to go on, go forth, implies, (1) removal, 
as forhid, bid away ; forbear, bear forth, hold from ; (2) removal and 
disappearing; as/org'i'e, give away or out of sight; (3) removal with 



SCENE iii.J MACBETH, 169 

At no time broke my faith, would not betray 

The devil to his fellow, and delight 

No less in truth than life : my first false speaking 130 

Was this upon myself. What I am truly. 

Is thine and my poor country's to command , 

Whither indeed, before thy here-approach. 

Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men, 

Already at a point, was setting forth. 135 

Now we '11 together, and the chance of goodness 

Be like our warranted quarrel ! Why are you silent ? 

Macduff. Such welcome and unwelcome things at once 
'T is hard to reconcile. 

Enter a Doctor. 

Malcolm. Well, more anon. — Comes the king forth, I 
pray you ? 140 

Doctor. Ay, sir ; there are a crew of wretched souls 

going wrong- ; as forswear, to swear falsely ; (4) removal with entire- 
ness; as forlorn, utterly lost; (5) simple jar, as forsooth; (6) simple 
fore, as forward. — 133. here-approach. So here-remain, 148. Of 
Shakespeare's skill in coining compounds, Abbott, 430, gives many ex- 
amples. — 134. Siward, Earl of Northumberland, son of Beorn, and 
very serviceable to King Edward in suppressing the rebellion of God- 
win in 1053. Holinshed makes Duncan to have married his daughter; 
but Menteith, in V, ii, 2, calls him Malcolm's uncle. — 135. already = 
all ready [Warburton, Heath, etc.] even now? — Rowe and some others 
change it to All ready. "Either makes good sense." Clark and Wright. 
— at a' point=thoroughly prepared? ready? resolved? at a stay or 
stop, settled [ArrowsmithJ ? at a point of space [Knight] ? — Hamlet, I, ii, 
200; Lear, I, iv, 316; III, i, 33; Fairie Q., I, ii, 12. Italian '•'■ essere in 
■punto is to be in readiness, to be at a point." Florio. Lat. pung^e, to 
prick; punctum, point; Fr. point; Old Fr. d point devis, according to a 
l)oint that is devised ; Eng. at point device, with great nicety or exacti- 
tude. Skeat. — 136. chance of goodness=chance of success [Clark 
and Wright] ? successful issue [Delius] ? the lot Providence has de- 
creed [Warburton] ? the success of that goodness (which is about to 
exert itself in my behalf) [Heath] ? fortune of goodness [Staunton] ? 
(may the) event be, of the goodness of heaven {pro justitia divina) 
[Johnson] ? Hanmer suggested our chance in goodness ; Jackson, the 
chairi of goodness! — 137. warranted quarrel = righteous cause 

i Delius] ? justified, assured quarrel [Clark and Wright] ? — Old High 
rer. u became in Old Fr. first w, then gu, and finally g. E. g. guaranty and 
warranty, Old Fr. garant and Eng. warrant, are the same word. Allied 
to Gr. oupo9, houros, a watchman ; opaoo, horao, I perceive, look out for ; 
A. S. wcer, cautious, wary; y war, to heed; Low Lat. warantum. Old 
Fr. warant, a voucher, warrant, supporter. The suffix -ant is due to 
the Lat. -a7it, used as the suffix of apres. participle; so that the orig. 
sense of Old Fr. warant was 'defending' or 'protecting.' Skeat. Fries. 
warend. Ger. gewahren, to be surety for. — Quarrel is Old Fr. querele, 
Lat. querela, a complaint; fr. queri, to complain. — Metonymy here ? — 140 
to 159. Many editors regard these lines as having been interpolated to 



170 MACBETH. [act iv. 

That stay his cure : their malady convinces 
The great assay of art ; but at his touch, 
Such sanctity hath heaven given his hand, 
They presently amend. 

Malcolm. I thank you, doctor. 145 

[Exit Doctor. 

Macduff. What 's the disease he means ? 

Malcolm. 'T is called the evil : 

A most miraculous work in this good king ; 
Which often, since my here-remain in England, 
I have seen him do. How he solicits heaven. 
Himself best knows ; but strangely-visited people, 150 

All swoln and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye. 
The mere despair of surgery, he cures. 
Hanging a golden stamp about their necks. 
Put on with holy prayers ; and 't is spoken, 
To the succeeding royalty he leaves 155 

The healing benediction. With this strange virtue, 
He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy, 

please King James, who 'touched' for the evil. Likely'^ — 143. stay= 
await? So in Richard IT, I, iii, 4; Mer. of Yen. II, viii, 40. — convinces. 
See I, vii, 64. — 143. assay = effort? Same as essay. Gr. eK. ek, out^ 
ayeiv, agcin, to lead ; efayetv, exagein, to lead out, export ; i^dyiov, exagion^ 
Lat. exagium, weighing, trial of exact weight; Fr. essai, a trial. Skeat^ 
Brachet. — 145. presently = immediately ? The word was more ex- 
pressive of immediateness than it is now. Lat. -prce, before, in front; 
sens, being. Tempest, IV, i, 42 ; Mer. of Veiiice, I, i, 183 ; Matthew, xxvi, 
53. — 146. the evil = 'The King's evil,' scrofula? Pope Alexander III 
(pope from 1159 to 1181) canonized Edward and recognized his miracu- 
lous gift of healing. The English sovereigns down to the death of 
Queen Anne in 1714, were supposed to possess this divine power. 
Charles I 'touched' 70 in one day at York; Charles X of France 
' touched ' 121 in one week, making the sign of the cross upon the fore- 
head and saying, "The King touches thee, may God cure thee." It is 
said that the practice did not quite die out in France till the year 1825. 
In 1745 Prince Charles 'touched' a child for the 'eviJ' at Holyrood Pal- 
ace. It was tried ineffectually on the child Sam Johnson, then at the 
age of two years, in 1712. Up to 1719 the Prayer Book contained a 
service to be used as a part of the ceremony. It was at first printed 
on a separate sheet, but was introduced in the P. B. as early as 1684. 
^Holinshed is Shakespeare's authority here. — 149. solicits^:: prevails 
by prayer [Clark and Wright] ? moves by his prayers [Rolfe] ? — Lat. 
soZZicitare, to agitate, arouse; Old Lat. so/iws, whole; eitus, shaken, ex- 
cited, fr. ciere, to arouse. Skeat. Like Zifare in church Latin, it some- 
times meant to prevail by petition.— 152. mere. Line 89.- -153. stamp. 
The coin, worth about 10 shillings, was called an angel, having on one 
side, in the time of Elizabeth, a figure of Michael piercing the dragon. 
That which Queen Anne hung on Johnson's neck is in the British Muse- 
um. — Mer. of Ven., II, vii, 56. — 154. spoken. Ill, iv, 8. — coin='stamp' 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. I7l 

And sundry blessings hang about his throne 
That speak him full of grace. 

Enter Ross. 

Macduff, See, who comes here ? 

Malcolm. My countryman ; but yet T know him not. 160 

Macduff. My ever-gentle cousin, welcome hither. 

Malcolm. I know him now. Good God, betimes remove 
The means that makes us strangers ! 

Moss. Sir, amen. 

Macduff. Stands Scotland where it did ? 

Itoss. Alas, poor country \ 

Almost afraid to know itself. It cannot 165 

Be call'd our mother, but our grave ; where nothing. 
But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile ; 
Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rent the air 
Are made, not mark'd ; where violent sorrow seems 
A modern ecstasy ; the dead man's knell 170 

Is there scarce ask'd for who ; and good men's lives 
Expire before the flowers in their caps. 
Dying or ere they sicken. 

Macduff. O, relation 

Too nice, and yet too true ! 

in Cymbeline, V, iv, 24 ; Merry Wives, III, iv, 16. — 160. my countryman. 
How recognized as a Scotchman ? — 163. means. Used both as singular 
and as plural in Shakes. — A. S. mid; Lat. medius; medianus; Old Fr. 
meien, middle, intermediate, mean; Mid. Eng. menes. — makes. Possi- 
bly old plu. in s. Ahhott, 333. — II, i, 61. — 167. once=ever ? V, v, 15 ; Ham- 
let, I,y, 121. — 168. rent. Sothefolios; old form of rend. Astothesound 
of t and d and th, see White's Shakespeare, Vol. xii, pp. 435, 436. — 170. 
modern =:comm on, trite, ordinary ? the opposite of old, in II, iii, 2, which 
nearly =uncommon, extraordinary. So, ' full of wise saws and mod- 
ern [i. 6. tritej instances;' As You Like It, II, vii, 156; Rom. and Jul. Ill, 
ii, 120. Lat. modus, measure, fashion; modo, just now; modernus, of 
the present mode or fashion ; Fr. moderne. — ecstasy. III, ii, 22. — A 
modern ecstasy = a slight nervousness [Whitej ? — 171. for ivho. 
Ill, i, 122; Ahhott. 274, 414. We still sometimes hear one say, collo- 
quiaHy, "Who for?' ' — 172. flowers in their caps. Scotch custom 
to stick sprigs of heath in their bonnets. H. Rowe. — Do flowers expire? 
— or ere := before? Or and ere are both from A. S. cer, ere, before 
Probably or ere arose as a reduplicated expression in which ere repeats 
and explains or; later this was confused with or e'er; whence or ever. 
Skeat. — Pleonasm? — Tempest, I, ii, 11 ; Hamlet, I, ii, 147; Maetzner, iii, 
446; Ahhott, 131. — 174. nice = excellent? precise [Schmidt]? minute 
[Rolfe] ? affected, elaborate [DeliusJ ? particular [DyceJ ? fancifully 
minute [Clark and Wright]? Lat. ne, not; scire, to know; nescivs, 
ignorant ; Old Fr . nice, lazy, idle, slack, dull ; Mid. Eng. nice, f oolish,^ 



172 MACBETH. [act rv. 

Malcolm. What 's the newest grief ? 

Hoss. That of an hour's age doth hiss the speaker ; 175 
Each minute teems a new one. 

Macduff. How does my wife ? 

Hoss. Why, well. 

Macduff. And all my children ? 

Ross. Well too. 

Macduff\ The tyrant has not batter'd at their peace ? 

Hoss. No ; they were well at peace w^hen I did leave 'em. 

Macduff. Be not a niggard of your speech : how goes 't ? 

Ross. When I came hither to transport the tidings, 181 
Which I have heavily borne, there ran a rumor 
Of many worthy fellows that were out ; 
Which was to my belief witness'd the rather, 
For that I saw the tyrant's power a-f oot. 185 

Now is the time of help ; your eye in Scotland 
Would create soldiers, make our women fight, 
To doff their dire distresses. 

Malcolm. Be 't their comfort 

We are coming thither ; gracious England hath 
Lent us good Siward and ten thousand men ; 190 

An older and a better soldier none 
That Christendom gives out. 

Ross. Would I could answer 

simple ; later it took the sense of fastidious, and lastly, that of delic- 
ious. The remarkable changes in the sense may have been due to con- 
fusion with Eng. nesh^ which sometimes meant ' delicate ' as well as 
'soft.' Skeat. — 175. hiss, etc. "If a man tells a crime that is an hour 
old, they say 'buzz' to him for stale news." Moberly, who cites Hamlet, 
II, ii, 383. — 176. teenis=brings forth? is brought forth? — Henry V, V, 
li, 51; Timon of A., IV, iii, 178. — A. S. tyman, to teem; fr. team, a pro- 
geny; Mid, Eng. temen, to produce. — 177. well. "We use to say the 
-dead are well" ; Anto7iy and Cleop., II, vi, 33; see 2 Kings, iv, 26. — chil- 
<lren. Here again editors are so anxious to fill out the metre that they 
make children a trisyllable. Ahhott, 477. But how needful and how 
impressive, a pause after the word children ! — 179. peace. A like 
double meaning in Richard II, III, ii, 127. — 180. niggard = miser? — 
Icel. hnoggr, stingy ; allied to A. S. hneau, sparing. The form of the 
root is KNU, preserved in Gr. Kvveiv, knuein, to scratch; so that the 
orig. sense is 'one who scrapes.' Skeat. For -ard see our Masterpieces, 
page 244. -ard is pejorative. Worcester. — Hamlet, III, i, 13.— 183. out= 
up in arms [MeiKlejohn] ? — "He was 'out' in the ■45"="he was engaged 
in the Scotch Rebellion of 1745." Clarke. — 184. witness'd = made 
<3redible [Rolfe] ? evidenced to my belief [Staunton] ? borne wit- 
ness to, testified?— for that. Line 106; Abhott, 287, 288. — 185. 
power often in Shakes. = military force, army. Line 236. — 188. 
^off = do off, put off ; don = do on ; dup = do up. — 191. none. 



SCENE iii.J MACBETH. 17 3. 

This comfort with the like ! But I have words 

That would be howl'd out in the desert air, 

Where hearing should not latch them. 595 

Macduff. What concern they ? 

The general cause ? or is it a fee-grief 
Due to some single breast ? /^ 

Hoss. No mind that 'a honest 

But in it shares some woe, though the main part 
Pertains to you alone. 

Macduff. If it be mine. 

Keep it not from mc, quickly let me have it. 200 

Ross. Let not your ears despise my tongue for ever, 
Which shall possess them with the heaviest sound 
That ever yet they heard. 

Macduff. Hum ! I guess at it. 

Ross. Your castle is surpris'd ; your wife and babes 
Savagely slaughter'd ; to relate the manner SOS- 

Were, on the quarry of these murder'd deer, 
To add the death of you. 

Malcolm. Merciful heaven ! — 

What, man ! ne'er pull your hat uj^on your brows ; 
Give sorrow words : the grief that does ilot speak 



Ellipsis? See IV. iii, 16. — 194. would.— See line 33; I, v, 20; I, vii, 
34; V, viii, 65; Abbott, 329. — 195. latch=catch? Possibly Lat. laqueus, 
a snare, noose ; A. S. Iceccan, to seize ; Mid. Eng. lacchen, to catch hold 
of. — Sonnet cxiii, 6 . — 196. fee-grief=private grief [Moberly] ? grief 
that hath a single owner [Johnson] '{ — A. S. feoh, fed, cattle ; proper- 
ty; akin to Lat, pecus, cattle; whence pecuniary; from ^/pak, to 
bind (from the tying up of cattle). Sheat. ^^ Fee simple is the 
tenure conferring the highest rights of ownership." Clark and 
Wright. "The attorney has been guilty of a flat trespass on the 
poet." Steevens. For Grimm's law of consonant changes, by 
which Latin or Greek p, k or c, f, become in English respect- 
ively ph or/, ch, th, see our Masterpieces j pp. 23, 240. So pater becomes 
father; cant-are, to sing, becomes chant. — 202. possess . . Avith=fill 
. . with [RolfeJ ? put . . in possession of ? — 203. hum! — The inter- 
jection is imitative? Made with closed lips, the sound is in a marked de- 
gree internal and subjective . See our Masterpieces, p. 48, foot-note. — 206. 
quarry, I, ii, 14. — 208. "He pulled his hat down over his brows. And 
in his heart he was full woe." Old ballad of NortMimberland betrayed 
by Douglas. — 209. See the beautiful verses in Tennyson's Princess, 
"Home they brought her warrior dead,"ietc. "Curae leves loquuntur, 
ingentes stupent," light cares talk, great ones are struck dumb. Sen- 
eca's Hippolytus. Had Shakes, read Seneca? "He might have read the 
words in Florio's Montaigne's Essays, of which he is supposed to have 



>'74 MACBETH. [act iv. 

Whispers the o'er-fraught heart, and bids it break. 210 

Macduff. My children too ? 

Ross. Wife, children, servants, all 

That could be found. 

Macduff. And I must be from thence ! — 

My wife kilPd too ? 

Boss. I have said. 

Malcolm. Be comforted : 

Let 's make us medicines of our great revenge, 
To cure this deadly grief. 215 

Macduff. He has no children. — All my pretty ones ? . 
Did you say all ?— O hell-kite !— All ? 
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam 
At one fell swoop ? 

Malcolm. Dispute it like a man. 

Macduff. I shall do so ; 220 

But I must also feel it as a man : 
T cannot but remember such things were. 
That were most precious to me. — Did heaven look on, 
And would not take their part ? Sinful Macduff, 
They were all struck for thee ! naught that I am. 



had a copy." Collier. — 210. whispers. Transitive now? Abhott, 200. 
— o'erfraught. Swed. frakta., to fraught, to freight; /ra/ft, a cargo; 
Ger. fracten, to freight ; Old Eug. fraught, to lade a ship. Fraught is now a 
participle only. Skeat. Mdtzner, i, 344. — 212. And I must be=and I was 
destined to be [Abbott, Rolf ej ? to think that I was compelled to be [Clark 
and Wright] ?— 216. He has no children. Who? Clark and Wright 
say Macbeth, and that Macduff means, " I cannot be fully revenged, 
because I cannot kill any children of Ms." Moberly also says Mac- 
beth. He cites 3 Henry VI, V, v, 63, and interprets, "Had Macbeth had 
children, he could not have done it." Malone says Malcolm, and quotes, 
"He talks to me that never had a son." King John, 111, \y,^1. Darmes- 
teter well says, "The context proves that Macduff is still absorbed in 
his anguish. He is thinking of his children, not of their murderer; of 
I he loss that he has met with, not of the crime that has caused it. It 
iS only by degrees that he arrives at the calmness of the resolution of 
vengeance." Is not the almost unparalleled pathos of "He has no chil- 
dren," implying that he therefore does not know what it is to lose 
them, better than the infernal savagery of the interpretation first 
quoted above?— "Macbeth had a son then alive named Lulah." Malone. 
Shakespeare thought otherwise? — 22. Dispute it=contend with your 
pi-esent sorrow [Steevens] ? reason upon it [Schmidt] ? Romeo and Jul., 
Ill, iii, 63. — 221. Note the depth and power of the simple Saxon speech ! 
— 223, 224. Did heaven look on, etc. A question that every earnest 
man asks, sooner or later! In Lear, II, iv, 184-187, the old king appeals 
to the heavens, "Send down and take my part," 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. lY5 

Not for their own demerits, but for mine, 235 

Fell slaughter on their souls. Heaven rest them now ! 

Malcolm. Be this the whetstone of your sword : let grief 
Convert to anger ; blunt not the heart, enrage it. 

Macduff. O, I could play the woman with mine eyes, 230 
And braggart with my tongue ! — But, gentle heavens. 
Cut short all intermission ; front to front 
Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself ; 
Within my sword's length set him ; if he scape 
Heaven forgive him too ! 

Malcolm. This time goes manly. 235 

Come, go we to the king : our power is ready ; 
Our lack is nothins; but our leave. Macbeth 



" Alas, long-BuSering and most patient God, 
Thou need'st be surelier God to bear with us 
Than even to have made us V 

Mrs. Browning's Aurora Leigh. 

— 225. naught. A much stronger word than now, implying moral 
worthlessness, a meaning which has left but a trace of itself in our 
naughty. Hamlet, III, ii, 130; Bom. and Jul., Ill, ii, 87; Mer. <>/ Ven., 
Ill, iii, 18. — 225,226, 227. See the Second Commandment. — 239. con- 
vert. Lat. C071, completely; vcrtere, to turn. ^ — Transitive? — Much Ado, 
I, i, 123; Richard II, V, iii, 64. "Stones to water do convert." Lucrece, 
592. — 231. "Here, and not at line 216, the possibility of revenge first oc- 
curs to Macduff." Delius. —2S2. interniission=delay? interruption? 
intervening period of time? — Lat. inter, between; mittere, to send; in- 
termittere, to send apart, interrupt ; intermissio, a breaking off, cessa- 
tion, interruption, delay. — Mer. of Ven., Ill, ii, 199. — 234. scape, III, 
Iv, 20. — 235. too=:besides forgiving me [Hudson] i as I also will in that 
case forgive him [Hudson] ? — Hudson gives us the choice, and says by 
way of paraphrase, "If I don't kill him, then I am worse than he, and 
I not only forgive him myself, but pray God to forgive him also ; or 
perhaps it is, then I am as bad as he, and may God forgive us both. I 
cannot point to an instance, anywhere, of language more intensely 
charged with meaning." Is Hudson right? Which? — time. Changed ^ 
by Rowe, and nearly all editors since, to tune. Moberly, who re- 
tains time, interprets it as meaning tune, and Webster (Unabridged 
Diet.) defines it as meaning in music, 'measure of sounds, measure, 
time; as common or triple time,'' illustrating by ' Some few lines set 
unto a solemn time,'' from Beaumont and Fletcher. This may be the 
true interpretation. But it is quite Shakespearian to personify time, 
and to speak of Time's gait, 'Time goes upright,' Tempest, V, i, 3; 
'travels in divers paces,' 'trots,' 'ambles,' 'gallops,' 'stands still,' 
with 'lazy foot,' with 'swift foot,' .4s Tou Like It, III, ii, 287-312; 
'comes stealing on,' Comedy of Errors, TV, ii, 60; 'goes on crutches,' 
Much Ado, II, i, 319; 'steals on' with 'noiseless foot,' AlVs Well, V, 
iii, 41; is 'brisk and giddy-paced,' Twelfth Niqht, II, iv, 6, etc., etc. 
— manly. Adv. or adject. ? Abbott, 447. See angerly. III, v, 1. — 237. 
lack, etc. " We need only the king's leave to set out "? " We need 



176 MACBETH. [act iv. 

Is ripe for shaking, and the powers above 

Put on their instruments. Receive what cheer you may y 

The night is long that never finds the day. [^Exeunt. 240 

only to take our leave of the king"? —239. put on = set to work 
[Schmidt] ? stir up, instigate, urge on [Hudson] ? — Hamlet^ IV^ vii, 130 ; 
V, ii, 386 ; Macbeth, I, iii,.124 ; III, i, 80.- -This line is said by the editors to 
be an Alexandrine. Rightly ?— What progress in the plot in this scene ? 
Is it needed? Its prominent features? How much is original with 
Shakespeare? with Holinshed? Character of Macduff? Investigate 
the question of Macbeth' s having had a son. (See French's Shake- 
speareana Genealogica, 1869.) 



>it -: 



SCENE I.] MACBETH. 17 7 



ACT V. 

Scene I. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle. 
Enter a Doctor of Physic and a Waiting Gentlewoman. 

Doctor. I -have two nights watched with you, but can 
perceive no truth in your report. When was it she last 
walked ? 

Gentlewoman. Since his majesty went into the field, I 
have seen her rise from her bed, throw her nightgown upon 
her, unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon 
't, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed ; 
yet all this while in a most fast sleep. 

Doctor. A great perturbation in nature, to receive at 
once the benefit of sleep and do the effects of watching ! 
In this slumbery agitation, besides her walking and other 
actual performances, what at any time have you heard her 
say ? 

Gentlewoman. That, sir, which I will not report after 
her. 

Doctor. You may to me, and 't is most meet you should. 

Gentlewoman. Neither to you nor any one, having no 
witness to confirm my speech. 15 

Enter Lady Macbeth, with a taper. 

Lo you, here she comes I This is her very guise ; and, 
upon my life, tastasleer Observe her ; stand close. 



ACT V. ScL.,ii I. — Maginn says this scene runs easily into blank 
verse. Try it! — 3. into the ' 3ld. Steevens thinks Shakes, has 
made a mistake here, forgettin. -hat Macbeth was shut up in Dunsi- 
nane. V, iv. 8, 9. Sound criticijm?— IV, iii, 185; V, ii, 18. — i. night- 
gown, II, ii, 70. — 8. perturbation. "The fiend is at mine elbow," 
and suggests that the country doctor loves 'to air his rhetoric' ? Is it 
so? — 9. effects. Peculiar sense of ejects? ji:iam?e(, III, iv, 127; iear, 
I, i, 178; II, iv. 174. — watching. II, ii, 71.— 10. slumbery. Abhott, 
450, gives other adjectives similarly formed. — actual distinguished 
from what? - -16. Lo. A. S. Zd, lo !— A. S. Id, lo, andJocian, to look, have 
nothing in common but the initial letter. La is a natural interjection 



178 MACBETH. [act v. 

Doctor. How came she by that light ? 

Gentlewoman. Why, it stood by her : she has light by 
her continually ; 't is her command. 20 

Doctor. You see, her eyes are open. 

Gentlewoman. Ay, but their sense are shut. 

Doctor. What is it she does now ? Look, how she rubs 
her hands. 24 

Gentlewom,an. It is an accustomed action with her, to 
seem thus washing her hands : I have known her con- 
tinue in this a quarter of an hour. 

Lady Macbeth. Yet here 's a spot. 

Doctor. Hark ! she speaks : I will set down what comes 
from her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly. 30 

-Lady Macbeth. Out, - damned spot I out, I say ! — One : 
two : why, then, 't is time to do 't — Hell is murky ! — 
Fie, my lord, fie ! a soldier, and afeard? What need we 
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to ac- 
count } — ^Yet who would have thought the old man to have 
had so much blood in him ? 36 

Doctor. Do you mark that ? 

^ Lady Macbeth. The thane of Fife had a wife : where is 

she now ? — What, will these hands ne'er be clean ? — No 

more o' that, my lord, no more o' that : you mar all with 

this starting. 41 

Doctor. Go to, go to ; you have known what you should 
not. 

to call attention. Skeat. — 17. close. Ill, v, 7; Julius Ccesar^ I, iii, 130. 

— 20. her command. Why? " Was this to avert the presence of 
those 'sightless substances'? " Bucknill. — I, v, 47. — 22. are shut. So 
the folios. 'Sense' in Sonnet cxii, 10, where it is used of the sense of 
'hearings,' is unmistakably plural. It may be here. Most critics 
change the are to is. Rightly? Abbott, 471, names quite a number of 
plurals in which the s is not sounded, or even not printed. II, iv, 14. — 
27. a quarter of an hour, etc. "What a comment on her former 
boast!" Bucknill; II, ii, 67.-32. Hell is murky. She repeats Mac- 
beth's words [Steevens] ? We do not agree with Steevens. Clark and 
Wright. 'Grand revealment of the murderess's soul-dread.' Clarke. 

— Since Macbeth signified his willingness to ' jump the life to come,' 
has he expressed any fear of hell? Does she, less sceptical, believe in 
the reality of 'the dunnest smoke of hell'? I, v, 49. — 34. call ... to 
account. "The king can do no wrong." Rushton. — S5, 36. "In her 
former literal fashion, she wondered that an old man should have had 
so much blood in him, thinking only of the physical fact." White. — 
38, 39. -where is she uoav? How much remorse is concentrated in 
this ! — 39. ne'er be clean? See II, ii, 67. — 40. you mar all, etc. 
See III, iv, 63. — 42. Go to, an old phrase of varying import, sometimes 



SCENE i] MACBETH. I79 

Gentlewoman. She has spoke what she should not, I am 
sure of that ; heaven knows what she has known. 45 

Lady Macbeth. Here 's the smell of the blood still : all 
the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. 
Oh, oh, oh ! 

Doctor. What a sigh is there ! The heart is sorely 
oharged. 50 

Gentlewoman. I would not have such a heart in my 
bosom for the dignity of the whole bod]^. 

Doctor. Well, well, well, — 

Gentlewoman. Pray God it be, sir. 54 

Doctor. This disease is beyond my practice : yet I have 
known those which have walked in their sleep w^ho have 
died holily in their beds. 

Lady Macbeth. Wash your hands, put on your night- 
gown ; look not so pale. — I tell you yet again, Banquo 's 
buried ; he cannot come out on 's grave. 60 

Doctor. Even so ? 

Lady Macbeth. To bed, to bed ! there 's knocking at 
the gate : come, come, come, come, give me your hand. 

meaning hxish up, sometimes come on, sometimes go ahead. To whom 
does the doctor say this? to the gentlewoman? or, without intending 
that she shall hear it, to Lady Macbeth? — Genesis, xi, 3, 4, 7; 2 Kings, 
V, 5.— 46. the smell of the blood. Nothing is more sickening than 
the odor of blood; partly so, because the imagination conspires to the 
same result? — "It was, I believe, Madame De Stael who said, some- 
what extravagantly, that the smell is the most poetical of the senses. 
It is true that the more agreeable associations of this sense are fertile 
in pleasing suggestions of placid, rural beauty, and gentle pleasures. 
. . . . But the smell has never been successfully used as a meansv 
of impressing the imagination with terror, pity, or any of the deeper 
emotions, except in this dreadful sleep-walking scene of the guilty 
queen, and in one parallel scene of the Greek drama, as wildly terribfe 
as this. It is that passage of the Agamemnon of ^schylus, where the 
captive prophetess Cassandra, wrapt in visionary inspiration, scents 
first the smell of blood, and then the vapors of the tomb breathing from 
thepalaceof Atrides, as ominous of his approaching murder." Verplanck 
— Had Shakes, read ^schylus? What resemblance between Clytem- 
nestra and Lady Macbeth ? — 48. Oh. "We hear the long, low groan of 
the soul in agony . " Morley. — 49. sorely. A. S. sdr, painful ; Icel. sdrr, 
sore, aching; Ger. selir, sorely, extremely, very. Skeat. — charged. 
IV, iii, 210. — for all the dignity, etc.=thoughallthe rest of the body 
were raised to the highest dignity [Meiklejohn] ? dignity, etc., is the 
queenly rank of the lady herself [Clark and Wright] ? — 53, 54. well, 
well, etc. "Does she misunderstand the doctor's 'well, well, well,' or 
does she mean this as a farther hint how dreadful the thing is?" Hud- 
son. — 56. which. TTTio indicates an individual, which 'a kind of per- 
son'; who is like Lat. ouf; which, Liat. qualis. — w^ho have died=and 



180 MACBETH. [act v. 

What 's done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed. 

[Exit. 

Doctor. Will she go now to bed ? • 65 

Gentlewoman. Directly. 

Doctor. Foul whisperings are abroad. Unnatural deeds 
Do breed unnatural troubles : infected minds 
To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets. 
More needs she the divine than the physician. — TO 

God, God forgive us all ! — Look after her ; 
Remove from her the means of all annoyance, 
And still keep eyes upon her. So, good night ; 
My mind she has mated, and amaz'd my sight. 
I think, but dare not speak. '^5 

Gentlewoman. Good night, good doctor. 

\^Exeunt. 

Scene II. The Country near Dunsinane. 

Drum and colors. Enter Menteith, Caithness, Angus, 
Lennox, and Soldiers. 

Menteith. The English power is near, led on by Malcolm, 
His uncle Siward, and the good Macduff. 

yet they have died. Abbott, 266.-69. on 's. On was often used for of, 
particularly in rapid speech. Abbott, 182. — 72. remove, etc. For fear 
of suicide [Delius] ? to prevent her from harming others? to prevent 
any further strain upon her nerves? — V, viii, 70, 71.— annoyance 
was used in a stronger sense than it is now [Clark and Wright] 1 Rich- 
ard III, "V, iii, 157. Lat. in odio, in hatred ; in odio habui, I had in ha- 
tred, I was sick and tired of ; Old Fr. anoier, enuier, to annoy, trouble ; 
Fr . ennuyer, to tire, weary, aunoy. Skeat, Bracket. — 74. mated=ter- 
rifled [MoberlyJ ? confounded? matched?— Arabic mdta,\ie died; Turk, 
and Pers. mat, astonished, amazed, conquered, check-mated ; Old Fr. 
mat, "deaded, mated, amated, quelled, subdued," Cotgrave; Mid. Eng. 
mate, confounded. French ^chec, a check ; tehees, chess. Properly check- 
mate, French Schec et mat, Persian schach-mat=^the king is dead. Brachet. 
— Observe in this scene the correspondences and parallelisms between 
Lady Macbeth's utterances on the one hand, and on the other, the say- 
ings and doings in II, ii, and III, iv.— Why is this scene prose? In an- 
swer it may be said (1) that there is a kind of rhythm running through 
it ; (2) that the irregular and fitful utterances of a somnambulist would 
hardly seem natural if expressed in perfect metre ; (3) that whispered 
questions and answers are not easily capable of rhythm which requires 
distinct vowel sounds. Our Masterpieces in Eng. Lit., p. 169. — "I sus- 
pect that the matter of this scene is too sublime, too austerely grand, 
to admit of anything so artificial as the measured language of verse." 
Hudson. "The pain and horror have become too intense and too literal 
and matter of fact to be raised into the level of poetry." Meiklejohn. — 
ScEXE II. — 1. power, IV, iii, 238.-2. uncle. IV, iii, 134.— 3, re- 



SCENE II.] MACBETH. 181 

Kevenges burn in them ; for their dear causes 
Would to the bleeding and the grim alarm 
Excite the mortified man. 

Angus. Near Birnam wood 5 

Shall we well meet them ; that way are they coming. 

Caithness. Who knows if Donalbain be with his brother ? 

Lennox. For certain, sir, he is not. I have a file 
Of all the gentry : there is Siward's son, 
And many unrough youths, that even now 10 

Protest their first of manhood. 

Menteith. What does the tyrant ? 

Caithness. Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies. 
Some say he 's mad ; others, that lesser hate him, 
Do call it valiant fury : but, for certain, 
He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause 15 

Within the belt of rule. 

Angus. Now does he feel 

His secret murders sticking on his hands ; 
Now minutely revolts upraid his faith-breach : 
Those he commands move only in command, 

venges. For the plural see loves^ III, i, 121 ; V, viii, 61. — dear causes. 
For dear see Hamlet (our edition) I, ii, 183. "Throughout Shakes, and 
all the poets of his and a much later day, we find dearest applied to that 
person or thing which, for us or against us, excites the liveliest inter- 
est." Galdecott. A. S. deore, dyre, dear, expensive ; allied to Icel. dyrr, 
dear, precious. — Ricnard III, II, ii, 77 ; Tempest, II, i, 132 ; Lear, I, iv, 
263; IV. iii, 51.— 4. bleedmg=bloody aeeds? See note on mortified. — 
alarm. II, i, 53. — 5. niortifled=dead [MeiklejohnJ ? perhaps dead 
to the world, i. e., religious [Clark and Wright] ? with body macerated 
or harassed into compliance with the mind [Johnson] 1 deprived of vital 
faculty, made apathetic and insensible [Schmidt] ? indifferent to the 
concerns of the world [Knight]? — Romans, viii, 13; Coloss., iii, 5. Lat, 
mortificdre, to cause death ; m,orti-, crude form of mors, death ; and fie-, 
for fac-(&re, to make, cause. Skeat. — "May it not mean 'the dead man' ? 
'mortified' in the literal sense?" [The idea of] " bleeding " may have 
been "suggested (line 4) by the well-known superstition tk at the corpse 
of a murdered man bled afresh in presence of the murderer." Clark 
and Wright. If this last is correct, then alarm may be taken either in 
its literal sense, or in its usual meaning. Preference? — 8. file. Ill, i, 
94. — 10. uiirough=smooth-faced, beardless? Tempest, II, i, 245. — 11. 
protest. Lat. pro, publicly ; tesfari, to bear witness. — 13. lesser. I, 
iii, 65. — 14. fury=inspiration, heroic rapture [Hudson] ? Lat. furore, 
to be mad, frenzied ; to be inspired. — 15. distemper'd cause=disor- 
ganized party, the disordered body over which he rules [Clark and 
Wright] ? Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon speak of ev^avoi avSpe^, 
enzondi andres, well-belted men, i. e., active, unincumbered, vigorous 
men. 2 Henry IV, 111, i, 38-41. TroiL a?idCres., II, ii, 30.— 18. minutely= 
happening every minute, continual [Schmidt] ? The word is adverbial? 
See Milton's IZFenseroso, 130.— 19. in, like the i?i, IV, iii, 20.— 20. noth- 



182 MACBETH. [act v. 

Nothing in love ; now does he feel his title 20 

Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe 
Upon a dwarfish thief. 

Menteith. Who then shall blame 

His pester'd senses to recoil and start, 
When all that is within him does condemn 
Itself for being there ? 

Caithness. Well, march we on, 25 

To give obedience where 't is truly o^wed : 
Meet we the medicine of the sickly weal. 
And with him pour we in our country's purge 
Each drop of us. 

Lennox. Or so much as it needs. 

To dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds. 30 

Make we our march towards Birnam. [Exeunt, marching. 

Scene III. Dunsinane. A Room iii the Castle. 

Enter Macbeth, Doctor, and Attendants. 

Macbeth. Bring me no more reports ; let them fly all : 
Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane, 
I cannot taint with fear. What 's the boy Malcolm ? 
Was he not born of woman ? The spirits that know 

ing, "like 'noway,' 'nought,' 'not' (A. S. naht^ i. e. 'no whit'), is often 
used adverbially." Ahhott,55. — 21. hang loose. Another of Shakes- 
peare's images of dress ! I, iii, 145; vii, 34, etc. — 23. pester'd. The 
old sense is to 'encumber' or 'clog.' Old Fr. empestrcr, to intangle, 
trouble, incumber; Fr. empetrer; Lat. pastorium, a clog for horses at 
pasture; pascere, to feed; particip. pastiis, fed, pastured. Wholly un- 
connected with pest. Skeat. — But has not the word pest influenced the 
signification, made it more intense? — to recoil=what? — To originally 
denoted a purpose. Gradually it was used in other and more indefinite 
senses, 'for,' 'about,' ' as regards,' 'in,' etc. Abbott, 356; IV, ii, 
69. — On recoil, see IV, iii, 19. — 27. inedicine=physician [Warburton, 
Schmidt, etc.J ? remedy? — Gr. base ju,aiJ, math, in ixav^dveLv, mantha- 
nein, to learn; y^MA, man, to think; Lat. mederi, to heal; medicus, a 
physician ; medicina, medicine ; French m6decin, physician. AlVs Welly 
II, i, 72; Winter'' s Tale, IV, iv, 576. Moberly prints medecin. Well? — 
weal. Ill, iv, 76. — 28. him. Whom? — purge=cure [Schmidt] ? pari 
fication from guilt? Lat. purus, free from stain; agere, to make, drive; 
pitrgare; Fr.pi«-f;e>^, to purify. — 30. sovereign=royal? supreme? pow- 
erfully remedial i — In Coriolanus, II, i, 197, we have 'sovereign (i. e. 
supremely medicinal) prescription.' See Henry IV, I, iii, 57; Milton's 
Comus, 639. — Is this scene of any value? Reason for your opinion? 

Scene III. — 1. them. Whom? See lines 7, 49. — 3. taint. In 
Twelfth Night, III, iv, 125, 126, we read, " lest the device take air and 
taint." — Gr. reyyeiv, tcngcin, to wet, moisten, stain; Lat. tingere, to dye, 
to color. French teindre, to stain ; taint, a tincture, stain. Perhaps con- 



SCENE III.] MACBETH. 183 

All mortal consequences have pronounc'd me thus : 5 

'Fear not, Macbeth ; no man that 's born of woman 

Shall e'er have power upon thee.' Then fly, false thanes, 

And mingle with the English epicures : 

The mind I sway by and the heart I bear 

Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear. 10 

Enter a Servant. 

The devil damn thee black, thou cream-fac'd loon ! 
Where got'st thou that goose look ? 

Servant. There is ten thousand — 

Macbeth. Geese, villain ? 

Servant. Soldiers, sir. 

Macbeth. Go prick thy face, and over-red thy fear, 
Thou lily-liver'd boy. What soldiers, patch ? 15 

fused with attaint. Skeat.—5. How to scan this line? Does it suffice 
that we make out five accented syllables ^ Abbott, 471, 496, shortens 
the word consequences to two or three sj41ables. But see note on IV, 
ii, 72; V, iv, 6.— me thus=to me thus? me to be thus circumstanced? 
Clai'k and Wright think either explanation is satisfactory. Prefer- 
ence?— 8. English epicures. Shakes, took the thought (of English 
epicureanism) from Holinshed. Steevens. Gluttony was a common 
charge brought by the Scotch against their wealthier neighbors. 
Clark and Wright. Epicurus (B. C. 342-270), born in Samos, resident 
after the age of 36 at Athens, established the so-called Epicurean school 
of philosophy, which taught that the highest good is happiness. He 
was a better man than many of his followers, who gave themselves 
over to sensuality. See the Class. Diet. — 9. sway=rule? am ruled? 
Clark and Wright sligh'dy prefer the latter. — Teut. base v swag, to 
sway, swing; also to sag, give way; Norweg. sua^a, to sway, swing, 
reel; Icel. sveigja, to bow, bend ; Eng. sway, to swing, incline to one side, 
influence, rule over. Skeat.- -Twelfth Night, 11, iv, SI.— 10. sag. Swedish 
sacka, to settle, sink down, allied to Ger. sacken, to sink. It seems to 
be an unnasalised form of sink. There may have been some confusion 
with A. S. sigan, to sink. Skeat. Sag is a very common word in Amer- 
ica, but rare in England. —11. loon = rogue, worthless fellow [Cham- 
bers] ? — Old Dutch loen, a lown, a base fellow. Prob. akin to lame. 
Skeat. — The commentators all concur in this meaning; but knowing 
that the water-bird loon is very cowardly, and, like other swimming 
birds, on land very awkward, and remembering the derogatory 
use of names of birds, as hoofiy, gull, goose, etc., we incline 
to think that the image in Shakespeare's mind was that of the 'great 
northern diver.' This is strengthened by the change to goose in the 
next line. See the pictorial illustration in Webster's Unabridged 
Diet., and imagine how this servant looked to Macbeth !— 13. is. See 
II, iii, 122. Ahhott, SSo. — 14. over-red. — Color symbolic of what? Any 
substantial foundation for the belief? — Merchant of Venice, II, i, 
7. — 15. lily-liver'd. See note onll, ii, 65; Lear, II, ii, 15; 2 Henry 
IV, IV, iii, 96. — patch = clown? a domestic fool, supposed to be so 
called from his parti-colored dress [Schmidt] ? The supposition that 



184 31 AG BETH. [act v. 

Death of thy soul ! those linen cheeks of thine 
Are counsellors to fear. What soldiers, whey-face ? 

Servant. The English force, so please you. 

Macbeth. Take thy face hence. — \Exit Servant. 

Seyton ! — I am sick at heart. 
When I behold — Seyton, I say !^This push 20 

Will cheer me ever, or disseat me now. 
I have liv'd long enough : my way of life 
Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf, 
And that which should accompany old age. 
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, 25 

I must not look to have ; but, in their stead, 
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honor, breath, 
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. — 
Seyton ! 

Enter Seyton. 

Seyton. What 's your gracious pleasure ? 

'patch' is a nickname from the dress is most probably right. Skeat. 
—Mer. of Yen., II, v, 45.— 16. linen cheeks. '*Their cheeks are pa- 
per." Henry F, II, ii, 74.— 17. to fear. Is fear personified? or is it a 
verb here? — 19. Seyton. Not pronounced Satan !— 20. push. Mean- 
ing? Ill, iv, 83. — "And sudden push gives them the overthrow," Julius 
Ccesar, V, ii, 5. — disseat = dethrone? The 1st folio has dis-eate; the 
others, disease. We supply the missing s, and drop the final e. As Clark 
and Wright suggest, disease 'seems to be too feeble a word.' To which 
we may add that he is sick enough already ! troubled enough, too, if that 
is what disease means. Most editors, however, change cheer to chair (i. e. 
enthrone, or keep on the throne). Says White, "C/iair is pronounced 
c^eer even now by some old-fashioned folk," and he regards cheer as 
'a mere phonographic irregularity of spelling.' But Mr. Ellis will 
not allow ' cheer ' to be a phonetic spelling of ' chair.' — The question 
of the right reading is a difficult one; but we adhere to our rule of 
avoiding unnecessary changes in the first folio text. Those who like 
may pronounce cheer chair, or, like our great-grandfathers, say c^eer 
and mean chair! Note the double antithesis. For arguments and 
conjectural readings, see Furness. — 22. way=:path? Johnson changed 
this to may. The emendation is very plausible, and has given 
rise to much discussion. Does it make better sense, or more 
consistent metaphor ? SeeFurness^ — 23. sear=decay [Moberly] ? with- 
ered? — A, S. sear, sere; sedrian, to dry up, to wither. IV, i, 113. — yel- 
low leaf. Sonnet, Ixxiii, 2. — 24. should accompany. What desir- 
able accompaniments are unmentioned here? — old age. Note the pro- 
found melancholy and ennui of the passage. — 'One of those touches of 
long time, systematically thrown in at intervals, to convey the effect 
of a sufficiently elapsed period for the reign of the usurper since the 
murder of Duncan.' Clarke. Select other allusions that indicate a long 
lapse of time since the opening scene; as, III, i, 29; IV, i, 142, etc. — 27. 
breath. See II, i, 61. The commentators do not notice that this pas- 



SCENE iii.J MACBETH. 185 

Macbeth. What news more ? 30 

Seyton. All is confirm'd, my lord, which was reported. 

Macbeth. I '11 fight till from my bones my flesh be hack'd. 
Give me my armor. 

Seyton. 'T is not needed yet. 

Macbeth. I'll put it on. 
Send out moe horses, skirr the country round ; 35 

Hang those that talk of fear. Give me mine armor. — 
How does your patient, doctor ? 

Doctor. Not so sick, my lord, 

As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies. 
That keep her from her rest. 

Macbeth. Cure her of that. 

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseas'd, 40 

Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow. 
Raze out the written troubles of the brain. 
And with some sweet oblivious antidote 
Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff 

sage is a recollection of Isaiah, xxix, 13, repeated in Matthew, xv, 8, and 
Mark, vii, 6, " This people draw near me with their mouth, and with 
their lips do honor me; but have removed their heart," etc. — 35. moe. — 
Two folios have moe. This obsolete word, which has given place to 
more, relates to number; whereas more relates to size. See V, v, 12. — 
In Much Ado, II, iii, 65, it rhymes to so. Mid. Eng. mo, more in num- 
ber. Frequent in Chaucer and other old writers. See note V, v, 12. — 
skirr:=scour=pass quickly over? — There seems to be a natural fitness 
in the sound sk (or sc) to express swift motion, as in {ski7^l, provincial 
Eng.) scud, skip, ''skedaddle,^ skirr. Our Masterpieces, page .56. — Scour 
isfr. Lat. ex (intensive prefix), out and out, very; curare, to take care; 
OldFr. escurer; Fr. 6curer. — What are we to infer as to Macbeth 's men- 
tal state from these rapid changes of the subject of conversation? — 39. 
cure her. The 1st folio omits her, and some editors think the text 
better without it. Is it? — 40. thou. Like dw now among the Germans, , 
thou in the time of Shakes, expressed, (1) affection towards friends, 
(2) good-humored superiority to servants, (3) contempt or anger to 
strangers, (4) solemnity in the higher poetic style and in solemn 
prayer, since it was somewhat fallen into disuse and was archaic. 
Ahhott, 231. — 42. Hamlet, I, v, 98 to 103. — 43. oblivious = forgetful? 
causing forgetfulness? Lat. ohliviosus, forgetful; causing forgetful- 
ness. Horace applies the term to Massic (Campanian) wine ! — 44. 
stuflTd. bosom. . . . stuflF. "This can hardly be right. One or 
other of these words must be due to a mistake of transcriber or printer. 
Pope read 'full' for 'stuff'd.' " Clark and Wright. But why not let Mac- 
beth, in his wild excitement, have his grim, inelegant, verbal play? 
* 'Similar repetitions are not uncommon in Shakes." i?o7/e.— Compare 
V, ii, 19; Rom. and Jul., Ill, ii, 92; and V, iii, 60, 72; also Antony and 
Cleop., I, i, 44; AlVs Well, II, ii, 160, etc. Compare Milton's 'tempted our 
attempt'; Par. Lost, i, 642; 'brought into this world a world of woe,' 
Par. Los^ ix, 11, etc. These are imitations of Scripture; thus ^ stay 



186 MACBETH, [act v. 

Which weighs upon the heart? 

Doctor. Therein the patient 45 

Must minister to himself. 

Macheth. Throw physic to the dogs, I '11 none of it. — 
Come, put my armor on ; give me my staff. — 
Seyton, send out. — Doctor, the thanes fly from me. — 
Come, sir, dispatch. — If thou couldst, doctor, cast 50 

The water of my land, find her disease. 
And purge it to a sound and pristine health, 
I would applaud thee to the very echo, 
That should applaud again. — Pull 't off, I say. — 
What rhubarb, senna, or what purgative drug, 55 

Would scour these English hence ? Hear'st thou of them ? 

Doctor. Ay, my good lord ; your royal preparation 
Makes us hear something. 

Macbeth. Bring it after me. — 

I will not be afraid of death and bane 59 

Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane. \Exit. 

Doctor. Were I from Dunsinane away and clear, 
Profit again should hardly draw me here. \Exit^ 

and sta#,' Isaiah, iii, 1, where the original Hebrew is happily repro" 
duced. — Maginn sees in this passage a trace of Homer's Odyssey, IV, 
230-226, where "Helen's medicament was o.xo\ov, acholon, that could 
minister to a mind diseased ; v-qnepOe';, nepenthes, that could pluck from 
the memory a rooted sorrow; kokcov eTriAij^ov andpTutv, kakon epilethon 
hapanton, that, being oblivious, could raze out the written troubles." It 
is said that there were at this time French and Latin translations of the 
Odyssey [Chapman's appeared in 1614J, but not English. Was it so? — 
47. I'll none. Proverbs, i, 2.5, 'and (ye) would none of my reproof.' 
— 48. stafr=lance [Schmidt] ? baton [Clark and Wright, Darmesteter, 
etc.] ? — Prom ]/ sta, to stand; A. S. stcef, staff; Gael, stab, to fix in the 
ground as a stake; Irish stobaim, I stab; Mid. Eng. staf, a long piece 
of wood, stick, prop, pole, or cudgel ; allied to stub and stab. Skeat. — 
In King John, II, i, 318, and elsewhere in Shakes., sfrt# appears to mean 
' spear,' and sometimes ' a walking cane,' as in Mer, of Yen., II, ii, 57. 
In V, vii, 18, staves is said to mean ' spear shafts.' — 50. sir. To whom 
is this addressed? — cast=medically examine? — purge. Ill, iv, 76. — 
54. Pull 'toff. What? — 55. senna. So folio 4. Folio 1 has cyme 
(which may be a misprint for cynne) ; folios 2 and 3 cceny. Senna wa& 
pronounced seeny by many in our childhood, as some of us well remem- 
ber from having drunk the dreadful cathartic 'salts and seeny' ! 
Ital. sena; Arab, sana; Old Fr. semU; Fr. sene; spelt sena in Phillip's 
(ed. 1706) ; the older name is seny or senU; the dried leaflets of some 
kinds of cassia. Skeat, Brachet.—b8. Bring it after me. The same 
that was pulled off? Line 54. — 59. bane. A. S. bana, a murderer; 
akin to Icel. bani, death, a slayer; Gr. <^di/-o?, phonos, murder; Mid. 
Eng. bane, harm, destruction. Skeat. See ratsbane, henbane. — 59, 60, 
61, Q2. Fleay rejects these four lines as spurious, because feeble. Hud- 
son concurs. Reason sufficient ? 



SCENE IV.] MACBETH, 187 

Scene IV. Country near Birnam Wood. 

Drum and colors. Enter Malcolm, old Siward and his 
Son, Macduff, Menteith, Caithness, Angus, Lennox^ 
Ross, and Soldiers, marching. 

Malcolm. Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand 
That chambers will he safe. 

Menteith. We doubt it nothing. 

Siward. What wood is this before us ? 

Menteith. The wood of Birnam. 

Malcohn. Let every soldier hew him down a bough, 
And bear 't before him ; thereby shall we shadow 5 

The numbers of our host, and make discovery 
Err in report of us. 

Soldiers. It shall be done. 

Siioard. We learn no other but the confident tyrant 
Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure 
Our setting down before 't. 

Malcolm. 'T is his main hope ; 10 

For where there is advantage to be given. 
Both more and less have given him the revolt. 
And none serve with him but constrained things 

Scene IV. —2. That=m which ? when? Ill, ii, 32. — chambers, etc* 
Referring to Duncan's murder [Ritson] ? to Lady Macduff's? to both \ to 
the spies, III, iv, 131, 132 [Hudson] ? to chambers in general; as we say 
'every man's house will be his castle' [Clark and Wright] ?— 5. shadow. 
Meaning? — 6. discovery=reconnoitering, the report of scouts [Clark 
and Wright]? This refers to Macbeth' s spies [Delius] ? Astothesan- 
sion see note on IV, ii, 72 ; IV, i, 153. — 8. other^ Note the peculiar use. 
Abbott, 12. — 10. setting=sitting? taking a military position? not quite 
equivalent to 'sitting'? beginning a siege? pitching a camp? Coriola- 
nus, I, ii, 28; III, 96. — 11. given, etc. A much-disputed passage, which 
nearly all editors think corrupt. Many substitute taken for ta''en, or 
gotten for 'given.' If, however, we regard the antithesis as being be- 
tween advantage and revolt, perhaps the old folio text will afford a suflQ- 
cient meaning. Thus : wherever there is an advantageous position, or 
other favor, that might be given to Macbeth by loyal subjects, there his 
subjects have abandoned the post to the enemy, have withheld all ben- 
efit from Macbeth, and have given him not advantage, but revolt! — Test 
this explanation. — 12. more and less:=larger numbers and fewer? high 
and low ? higher and humbler? great and small ? Abbott, 17, thinks lesn 
here refers to rank. Twelfth N., I, ii, 33.— See V, ill, 35. A. S. ma, more, 
akin to Ger. mehr, Gothic mars, Lat. magis, more; A. S. mara, greater, 
larger; Icel. meiri, Goth, maiza, greater; Mid. Eng. more, larger in size, 
bigger ; '•'•more and Zess"=greater and smaller (Chaucer) . Skeat. — La^ssa 
(less) is the comparative from a base Zas, feeble; Mid. Eng..Zesse, Zes. Skeat. 



188 MACBETH. [act iv. 

Whose hearts are absent too. 

Macduff. Let our just censures 

Attend the true event, and put we on 15 

Industrious soldiership. 

Siward. The time approaches 

That will with due decision make us know 
What we shall say we have and what we owe. 
Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate, 
But certain issue strokes must arbitrate ; 
Towards which advance the war. [^Exeunt, marching. 

Scene Y. Dunsinane. Within the Castle. 

Enter Macbeth, Seyton, and Soldiers, with drum and 

colors. 

Macbeth. Hang out our banners on the outward walls ; 
The cry is still ' They come ! ' Oiir castle's strength 
Will laugh a siege to scorn ; here let them lie 
Till famine and the ague eat them up. 

Were they not forc'd with those that should be ours, 5 
We might have met them dareful, beard to beard. 
And beat them backward home. \^A cry of women within. 

What is that noise ? 

Seyton. It is the cry of women, my good lord. [Exit. 

Macbeth. I have almost forgot the taste of fears : 
The time has been, my senses would have cool'd 10 

— 14. censures, etc. "Proleptical form of speech. . , . Let our judg- 
ments wait for the actual results, the issue of the contest, in order that 
they may be just" [Hudson]? — Lat. censere, to count, estimate, judge; 
censura, opinion, judgment. — "Censure (i. e. judge) me in your wis- 
dom," Julius Ccesar, III, ii, 15. — 16. have and owe, etc. = property 
and allegiance [Warburton] ? — owe= possess? are under obligation 
or indebted for? — Shakes, uses it in both senses. I, iv, 22; V, ii, 26; 
I, iii, 76; iv, 10; III, iv, 113. — 19. Scan, making 5 accented syllables. — 
relate, etc = "There's no use in talking about it, and eating the air 
of expectation; nothing but plain, old-fashioned fighting will decide 
the matter" [Hudson] ? — Value of this scene? 

Scene V. — 1. Keightley would put an exclamation point after 'ban- 
ners,' and no pause after 'walls.' Properly? — So Edwin Forrest 
used to deliver the lines. What is the proper place in which to hang 
out the banners^ — 5. forc'd = reinforced [Singer, Schmidt, etc.]? 
stuffed, filled out? — Force is given in Skeat as a corruption of farce, to 
stuff (Lat. farcere, to stuff), and the Collier MS. substitutes /arc'd. ■ — 
Troilusand Ores., V, i, 55. — 7. beat. The Elizabethans dropped the -en 
very often, when there was no danger of the curtailed form being con- 
fused with the infinitive. Ahhott, 343. — has been, etc. II, ii, 58. — 10. 
■cool'd. 'Coil'd' for 'recoiled' has been suggested as better than 



SCENE V.J MACBETH. 189 

To hear a nigbt-shriek, and my fell of hair 
Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir 
As life were in 't. I have supp'd full with horrors ; 
Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, 
Cannot once start me. — 

He-enter Seyton. 

Wherefore was that cry ? 15 

Seyton. The queen, my lord, is dead. ^__ 

Macbeth. She should have died hereafter ; 

There would have been a time for such a word. 

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day 20 

To the last syllable of recorded time. 

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools 

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle ! 

Life 's but a walking shadow, a poor player 

cooVd; also "quail'd." " Any need of change? May senses be personi- 
fied here? Does fear chill? If so, how? If not, whence the belief?— 
11. fell=scalp [DyceJ ? crop [NicholsJ ?— A. S./et, fell, skin. Allied to 
Gr. TreAAa, pella ; Lat. pellis; Icel. fell; Eng. pelt, skin.— 13. treatise= 
story? — Lat. trahere, to draw; tractdre, to handle; Fr. trailer, to treat; 
Eng. treat, to handle in a particular manner; discourse of. In Much 
Ado, I, i, 281, it means tall. Rolje.—lS. as. I, iv, 11. — with. IV, ii, 
32. — 14. direness. Gr. Seifieii', deidein, to fear; Setco?, frightful; Lat. 
dims, dreadful. On -ness, see note on "rawness," IV, iii, 26.— 15. once. 
IV, iii, 167.— start. Startle is said to be properly a frequentative form 
of start.— 16. the queen . . . is dead. Why no utterance of grief 
or even of surprise? — 17. should = would? ought to? Is he finding 
fault, as if she 'had no business' to be dying at a time like this?— 10. 
word, etc. Johnson suggested that the true reading might be '—time 
for— such a world P Reasonable? — In Richard II, 1, iii, 152, we read, 
"the hopeless word of 'never to return'." —19. Halliwell, quoted by 
Furness, thinks Shakes . here recollected a passage which certainly has 
points of resemblance in Barclay's Ship of Fools (1570), ^'Cras, eras, eras., 
to-morrow we shall amend," etc.— 21. last syllable, 'to the utmost syl- 
lable of your worthiness.' AlVs Well, III, vi, 62.— recorded— recordmflr 
or recordable [SteevensJ ? not only that has been but shall be recorded 
[M. Mason] ? prophetically recorded as yet to come, meanmg the day of 
judgment, Rev. x, 5, 6 [ElwinJ ? of which a record shall be kept, as op- 
posed to eternity [Dalgleish] ? prolepsis, of the record (of time) [Hud- 
son] ?— 22. yesterdays. "Each day, that has successively become 
yesterday, has been a to-mor7r)W, and (as such) has been an ignis 
fatuus, lighting fools the way to death." Allen.— 2d. dusty. 
So the 1st folio. The 2d, 3d and 4th have study, and several editors 
prefer it. What say you? — 'Inviting it to dusty death's defeature.' 
Fig for Fortune, Copley (1596); 'the dust of death', Psalm xxii, 15; 
'dust to dust,' Bwriai Seruice. — 24, 25. player .... stage, etc.. 



190 MACBETH. [act v. 

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage 35 

And then is heard no more ; it is a tale 
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, 
Signifying nothing. — 

Enter a Messenger. 

Thou com'st to use thy tongue ; thy story quickly. 

Messenger. Gracious my lord, . 30 

I should report that which I say I saw. 
But know not how to do it. 

Macbeth. Well, say, sir. 

Messenger. As I did stand my watch upon the hill, 
I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought. 
The wood began to move. 

Macbeth. Liar and slave ! 35 

Messenger. Let me endure your wrath, if 't be not so : 
Within this three mile may you see it coming ; 
I say, a moving grove. 

Macbeth. If thou speak'st false. 

Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive 
Till famine cling thee ; if thy speech be sooth, 40 

I care not if thou dost for me as much. — 
I pull in resolution, and begin 
To doubt the equivocation of the fiend 
That lies like truth : " Fear not, till Birnam wood 
Do come to Dunsinane ; " and now a wood 45 

I, iii, 128; II, iv, 5. 'Like a strutting player,' Trail, and Ores.., I, iii, 
153 — Does Shakes, put his atheistic utterances into the mouths of his 
worst characters?— 30. Gracious my lord. Ill, ii, 27. — 31. should 
=ought to [Abbott, 323]? I, ii, 46.-37. This. Why the singular? 'This 
two days. Lear, I, iv, 69. — Three mile. 'Mile,' 'pound,' 'yeat,' 
' shilling,' etc., are often used for the plural in Shakes. — Compare our 
'two-penny stamp.' Darmesteter. — 38. a moving grove. Similar 
stories are found in the folk-lore of different peoples. Perhaps the 
earliest is in the 47th chapter jf Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems, 
composed A. D . 943, by a long-forgotten Arabian traveller, who died 
at Cairo A. D. 956. — 40. cling. A. S. clingan, to shrivel up by con- 
traction, to dry up. ^Clunrj, hungry, or empty, emaciated.' Craven 
Glossary. ' Ciungr, dinged or shrunk up.' Kennett. — 42. pull in reso- 
lution. He had permitted his courage (like a fiery horse) to carry 
him to the brink of a precipice ; but, seeing his danger, resolves to check 
that confidence to which he had given the rein before [Steevens] ? John- 
son would read pall; Clark and Wright, pale; and so they would pluck 
the metaphor from Shakespeare's wing, and ' make him fly an ordin- 
ary pitch' ! — "Despair blends with fury, and begins to take the place of 
the false confidence that 'signs and lying wonders' had sustained." Mar- 



SCENE Yi.] MACBETH. 191 

Comes toward Dunsinane. — Arm, arm, and out ! — 

If this which he avouches does appear, 

There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here. 

I gin to be aweary of the sun. 

And wish the estate o' the world were now undone. — 50 

Ring the alarum-bell ! — Blow, wind ! come, wrack ! 

At least we '11 die with harness on our back. [^Exeunt. 

Scene VI. Dunsinane. Before the Castle. 

Drum and colors. Enter Malcolm, old Siward, Macduff, 
and their Army, with houghs. 

Malcolm. Now near enough ; your leavy screens throw 
down. 
And show like those you are. — You, worthy uncle 
Shall with my cousin, your right-noble son, 
Lead our first battle ; worthy Macduff and we 
Shall take upon 's what else remains to do, 5 

According to our order. 

Siioard. Fare you well. 

ley.— 4:%. gin. I, ii, 25. — aweary. 4&?)ott, 24, explains this a in aifeary 
as a corruption of ttie A. S. intention o/. He says '•' a-weary means o/- 
wery^i i. e. 'tired out.' " Perhaps a better etymology would make the 
a- the A. S. prefix a- or ge-, equivalent to Gothic ga-; Old Saxon (ji-; 
Friesic ie-; Old Ger. ka-^ M-; Ger. fire-, originally equivalent to Lat. co- 
or con-, and signifying 'with,' 'together with.' Weary is A. S. w^rig., 
tired. Skeat thinks A. S. w6rig = A. S. wos -ig, 'bedaubed with mire' 
(was), 'draggled with wet,' and that weary is in fact a doublet of coxy! 
— Clark and Wright, Fleay and Hudson opine that the four lines 47-50 
are spurious, because singularly weak ; Craik and Rolf e regard line 49 
as one of Shakespeare's most pathetic lines, and parallel to JuUus 
CcBsar, IV, iii, 94. Judge ! — 50. estate = settled order [Clark and 
Wright]? I, iii, 114. — "At bay, baited, and driven by despair, Mac- 
beth leaves shelter of the castle to make one wild rush on those who 
hunt him down . " Morley. — 51. alarum. II, i, 53. — wrack. Tempest, 
I, ii, 25. See I, iii, 140. — 52. harness. 'Through proof of harness,' 
A7itony and Cleop., IV, viii, 15; Troilus and Ores., V, iii, 31, has, "doff 
thy harness" ; 1 Kings, xxii, 34. — Progress of the drama in this scene? 
Light thrown on the character or mental state of Macbeth? 

Scene VI. — leavy. Rhymes with heavy in Much Ado, II, iii, 68. 
For the sound of ea in the Elizabethan age, see White, Vol. xii, pp. 417, 
418. — 2. show. I, iii, 54. — 4. battle = battalion? army? division of 
an army? attack? conflict? — Lat. hatalia = pugna, a fight; Old Fr. 
hataille, a fight, a batallion ; from Lat. hath-e, a popular form of hatuire, 
to beat. — Often in Shakes, it means a part or the whole of an army. 
Jul. Cces., V, i, 4, 16. — 5. to do = for us to do? to be done? Often the 
latter in Shakes. , as shown in Abhott, 359, 405. V, vii, 28 ; viii, 64. — 



192 MACBETH. [act v. 

Do we but find the tyrant's power to-night, 
Let us be beaten, if we cannot fight. 

Macduff. Make all our trumpets speak ; give them all 
breath. 
Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death. 10 

[^Exeunt. 

Scene YII. Another Part of the Field. 

Alafums. Enter Macbeth. 

Macbeth. They have tied me to a stake ; I cannot fly, 
But, bear-like, I must fight the course. What 's he 
That was not born of woman ? Such a one 
Am I to fear, or none. 

Enter young Siwaed. 

Young Siumrd. What is thy name ? 
Macbeth. Thou 'It be afraid to hear it. 5 

Young Siward. No ; though thou call'st thyself a hotter 
name 
Than any is in hell. 

Macbeth. My name 's Macbeth. 

Young Siward. The devil himself could not pronounce 
a title 
More hateful to mine ear. 

Macbeth. No, nor more fearful. 

You7ig Siward. Thou liest, abhorred tyrant ; with my 
sword 10 

I '11 prove the lie thou speak'st, 

[ They fight., and young Siward is slain. 

7. Do we but find. Optative? Imperative? Subjunctive? — Such 
usage was more common than now. Abhott, 364. — 10. harbingers. 

1, iv, 45. — Was it to make their numbers appear less that they bore the 
'leavy screens'? or greater? or utterly uncertain? — Use of this scene? 

Scene VII. — 2. bear-like. Bear-baiuing vvu,s as much enjoyed 
by our rough English ancestors as bull-fighting by the Spaniards. 
They tied the bear to a stake, and let loose upon him successive 
packs of savage dogs. The fight with each set was called a course . — 

2. "What 's = who is? what sort of person is? When the distinction 
between ranks was much more marked than it is now, what would be 
used in such questions oftener than is now the case. Abbott, 254. — 4. 
Young SiAvard. " His name was really Osbeorn ; his cousin Siward 
was, however, slain in the same battle." Moberly. — 7. any, Is the 



SCENE VII.] MACBETH. 193 

Macbeth. Thou wast born of woman. — 

But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, 
Brandished by man that 's of a woman born. \_Exit. 

Alarums. Enter Macduff. 

Macduff. That way the noise is. — Tyrant, show thy face! 
If thou be'st slain and with no stroke of mine, 15 

My wife and children's ghosts will haunt me still. 
I cannot strike at wretched kerns, whose arms 
Are hir'd to bear their staves : either thou, Macbeth, 
Or else my sword with an unbatter'd edge 
I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be ; 30 
By this great clatter, one of greatest note 
Seems bruited. Let me find him, fortune ! 
And more I beg not. \Exit. Aldrums. 

Enter Malcolm and old Siward. 

Siward. This way, my lord. The castle 's gently ren- 
der'd : 
The tyrant's people on both sides do fight ; 25 

The noble thanes do bravely in the war ; 
The day almost itself professes yours, 
And little is to do. 

Malcolm. We have met with foes 

That strike beside us. 

Siward. ' Enter, sir, the castle. 

[JExeunt. Alarum. 

relative that or which understood after any? Abbott, 244. — 15. be 'st. 
"If thou beest he." Par. Lost, i, 84; Julius Caesar, TV, iii, 102; Abbott, 
298. — 17. kerns. I, ii, 13. Gallowglasses, equites triarii qui securibus 
iituntur acutissimis. Kernes sunt pedites qui jaculis utuntur, gallow- 
glasses, troopers (or knights) heavy-armed, who use very sharp axes. 
Kerns are foot-soldiers using javelins. Coke, Inst., tu, 358; quoted by 
Rushton and Furness. — 18. staves. V, iii, 48. — For the 'scansion,' 
see I, iii. 111. — Abbott, 466. What is to be supplied after thouf — 20. 
undeeded — Found elsewhere? Not in Shakes. — 22. bruited. 
French bruire, to make a i^oice, to roar; bi-uit, a great noise; perhaps 
akin toGr. /Spuxao^ai, "iJi-'uChaomai, I roar. Skeat. — Hamlet, I, ii, 127. — 
24. gently = readily [Rolf e] ? quietly [Clark and Wright] ? — Lat . 
gentilis, of the same gens or clan; Old Fr. gentil, of noble family, well- 
bred, gentle, gracious. The idea is of one well-born and well-bred ; and 
as gentlemen are gentle men, we get the meaning of mild ! — 'And do 
my spiriting gently,' Tempest, I, ii, 298; 3 Henry VI, II, i, 132. — rend- 
er'd. Lat. re or red, back ; dare, to give ; redd^re, to restore, give back ; 
French rendre, to yield. — 27. itself professes. Inversion? What 
objection to ' professes itself ' ? — 28. to do. V, vi, 5 ; viii, 64. — 29. 



194 MACBETH. [act v. 

Sce:n^e VIII. Another Part of the Field. 

Enter Macbeth. 

Macbeth. Why should I play the Roman fool, and die 
On mine own sword ? whiles I see lives, the gashes 
Do better upon them. 

Enter Macduff. 

Macduff. Turn, hell-hound, turn ! 

Macbeth. Of all men else I have avoided thee : 
But get thee back ; my soul is too much charg'd 5 

With blood of thine already. 

Macduff\ I have no words ; 

My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain 
Than terms can give thee out ! \They fight. 

Macbeth. Thou losest labor. 

As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air 
With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed : 10 

Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests ; 
I bear a charmed life, which must not yield 
To one of woman born. 

Mctcduff. Despair thy charm, 

strike beside = strilce the air [Schmidt] ? deliberately miss [Clark 
and WrightJ ? fight by our sides, having deserted Macbeth [Delius, J. 
Hunter] ? V, iii, 7, 8 ; iv, 12 ; v, 5 ; line 25 of this scene. — Ought this 
scene to end here? There is no scene viii in the folios. 

Scene VIII. — Roman fool =the part of Cato, the suicide [Steev- 
ens] ? '^the high Roman fashion' of self-destruction, as in Brutus, Cas- 
^sius, Antony, etc. [Singer]? Julius Ccesar, V, i, 100, 101; iii, 41-46; V, 
51; Antony and Cleop., IV, xiv, 102, 103. — 2. whiles. I, v, 5. — 4. Of 
all men else. "This (which is a thoroughly Greek idiom, though 
independent in English) is illustrated by Milton's famous line, 'The 
fairest of her daughters, Eve.' The line is a confusion of two construc- 
tions." Abhott, 409. — 5. charg'd. V, i, 49; IV, iii, 211. — 7. blood- 
ier villain. Here is said to be a transposition, and III, vi, 48, is re- 
ferred to as a similar instance. Correctly? — 9. easy. Many adverbs 
were formed from adjectives by adding e, which was afterwards 
dropped ; and, by analogy, many other adjectives were used as adverbs. 
Abbott, 1, page 17. — intrenchant = not cutting? not to be divided? 
See trenched. III, iv, 27. As trenchant {Timon of Athens, IV, iii, 114) 
means cutting, 'intrenchant' should be active. Is it passive? Abbott, 
'6. — 10. impress. Meaning? IV, i, 95. — 12. charmed. Any allusion 
to the supposed protection afforded by charms, talismans, or magic in- 
fluences in the days of chivalry, when each champion made oath that he 
used no charmed weapons? — 13. despair. Milton, Par. Lost, i, 660, 
has ' 'peace is despair 'd, For who can think submission ? ' ' This omission 
of 'of is perhaps a Latinism." Abbott, 200. In the last line of Ben 



SCENE VIII.] MACBETH. 195 

And let the angel whom thou still hast serv'd 

Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother's womb 15 

Untimely ripp'd. 

Macbeth. Accursed be that tongue that tells me so, 
For it hath cow'd my better part of man ! 
And be these juggling fiends no more believ'd, 
That palter with us in a double sense ; 20 

That keep the word of promise to our ear, 
And break it to our hope. — I'll not fight with thee. 

Macduff. Then yield thee, coward. 
And live to be the show and gaze o' the time : 
We '11 have thee, as our rarer monsters are, 25 

Painted upon a pole, and underwrit, 
" Here may you see the tyrant." 

Macbeth. I w^ill not yield, 

To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, 
And to be baited with the rabble's curse. 
Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane, 30 

And thou oppos'd, being of no woman born, 
Yet I will try the last. Before my body 
i throw my warlike shield : lay on, Macduff, 
Aud damn'd be him that first cries " Hold, enough ! " 

\^Exeunt., fighting. Alarum. 

Jonson's verses prefixed to the folio of 1623, we have 'despairs day.' — 
14. angel = demon? guiding spirit? ruling passion? See III, i, 55. — 
still. Ill, i, 21. — 18. my better part. Specifically v6\\at1 Milton 
evidently had this passage in mind in "Adam .... wept, Thongh 
not of woman born; Compassion quelled His best of man"; Far. 
Lost, xi, 495, 496, 497. — See 'my pith of business,' Meas. forMeas., I, iv, 
70. —As You Like It, III, ii, 137; Abhott, 423. - 20. palter = shuffle, 
equivocate? — Most likely connected with paltry which is due to a 
Scand. word palter, signifying 'rags, refuse.' More literally, it meant 
'to deal in rags' .... 'haggling over worthless trash. ' Skeat.— 
Julius Ccesarj II, i, 126.— Nor paltered with the Eternal God for power.' 
Tennyson. — Clark and Wright refer to 'Croesus, Epaminondas, Pyr- 
rhus, our Henry I V^, etc.. deceived by the double sense of oracles 
and prophecies.' — 24. show and gaze. So Ant. and Cleop., IV, xii, 
33-37.— the time. I, v, 61; vii, 81; IV, iii, 72.-26. pole. Barnum 
fashion ? — Harry Rowe changed this to cloth ; Daniel suggested sa^oll. 
Judiciously? — underwrit. Another of these frequent omissions of 
the inflection in en. V, v, 7, 9. — 29. baited = barked at or worried 
[Hudson] ? — Icel. heita, to make to bite ; the causal of Icel. hita, to 
bite. To hait a bear is to make the dogs bite him. Skeat. — 34. him. 
Pope changed ^im to he. "Perhaps let, or some such word, was im- 
plied." Ahhott, 208. — As to the significance of the command, 'Hold!' 
see note on I, v, .52. — Here the folios have Exeunt fighting. Alarums, 
and then Enter fighting, and Macbeth slain; then Retreat and flourish. En- 



196 MACBETH. [act v. 

Retreat. Flourish. Enter, vnth drum and colors, Mal- 
colm, old Si WARD, Ross, the other Thanes, and Soldiers. 

Malcolm. I would the friends we miss were safe arriv'd. 

Siward. Some must go off ; and yet, by these I see 36 
So great a day as this is cheaply bought. 

Mcdcolm. Macduff is missing, and your noble son. 

Ross. Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's debt 
He only liv'd but till he was a man ; 40 

The which no sooner had his prowess confirm'd 
In the unshrinking station where he fought, 
But like a man he died. 

Siward. Then he is dead ? 

Moss. Ay, and brought off the field : your cause of sorrow 
Must not be measur'dby his worth; for then 45 

It hath no end. 

Siward. Had he his hurts before ? 

JRoss. Ay, on the front. 

Siward. Why then, God's soldier be he ! 



ter, with drum, and colors, Malcolm,, Old Siward, Ross, the other thanes and 
soldiers. Some 20 lines later, the stage direction occurs, Enter Macduff, 
with Macbeth'' s head! How reconcile the stage directions? White 
thinks the body of Macbeth was dragged off the stage in the 'Retreat,' 
for decapitation. Clark and Wright think Shakespeare's part in the 
play ended here. - - 36 . go off. Euphemism ? So 'taking off, ' 'takes 
off,' I, vii, 20; III, i, 104. —only . . . but. Pleonasm? But so 
great a scholar as Bacon says, 'need only but to prove or dispute.' 
Advancement of Learning, II, xvii, 9; Ahbott, 130. — 41. the which. Ill, 
i, 16. prowess. Abbott, 470, claims that 'words in which a light 
vowel is preceded by a heavy vowel or dipthong are frequently con- 
tracted, and so prowess is a monosyl. If we could but adopt the prin- 
ciple that dactyls, trochees, spondees, and anapests may be substituted 
freely for the fundamental foot in Shakespeare ! Have we the right 
to do it? — But prowess rhymes to cows in Hudihras! See also note on 
IV, ii, 72.-42. station = attitude [Moberly, Schmidt, Rolf e, etc.] ? 
post, from which he did not flinch [Clark and Wright] ? Hamlet, III, iv, 
58. — Difference between 'attitude' and 'posture?' — 43. but. Is but 
now used for than? It appears to be in Hamlet, I, i, 108. — 44. cause 
of sorrow 'is here a pleonasm for sorrow' [Clark and Wright] ? 
Really? — 47. God's soldier. In allusion to the old Scandinavian 
mythology? In Odin's mansion is the great Valhalla (hall of the slain) 
encompassed by a roaring river, and resting on spears with a roof of 
shields. Every morning, from its 540 gates, through each of Avhich 800 
men could walk abreast, march the warriors who have been slain in 
battle on earth. They spend the day in the pastime of furious fighting 
with each other ; but towards sunset the wounds heal, the slain revive, 
and all march back to Odin's hall, where they drink mead with the 
the gods and feast on the roast flesh of the wild boar Sahrimner. 



SCENE yiil] MACBETH. 197 

Had I as many sons as I have hairs, 

I would not wish them to a fairer death ; 

And so his knell is knolPd. 

Malcolm. He 's worth more sorrow, 50 

And that I'll spend for him. 

Siioard. He 's worth no more : 

They say he parted well and paid his score ; 
And so God be with him ! Here comes newer comfort. 

He-enter MACDXirr, loith Macbeth' s head. 

Macduff, Hail, king ! for so thou art. Behold, where 
stands 
The usurper's cursed head ; the time is free. , 55 

I see thee compass'd with thy kingdom's pearl. 
That speak my salutation in their minds ; 
Whose voices I desire aloud with mine : 
Hail, King of Scotland ! 

All. Hail, King of Scotland ! [^Flourish. 

Malcolm. We shall not spend a large expense of time 60 



These are 'Odin's soldiers.' — 48. hairs. The editors will have it that 
here is a pun, and it is to be feared that they are right. See II, ii, 56. 

— 49. wish them to= wish to them [Clark and Wright, Rolfe, etc.] ? 

— 'And with thee to a shrewd ill-favor' d wife.' Tam. of Shrew, I, ii, 
58,62; "I will wish (i. e. commend) him to her father," Ibid. I, i, 
111. See the extract from Holinshed, p. 27. — 52. parted. Henry V, 
II, iii, 11; Richard III, II, i, 5. — score. See line 39 above. "A. S. 
scor , pp. of sceran, to shear, cut; Icel. sknr, a score, notch. It is sup- 
posed that in counting numbers by notches on a stick, every 20th 
number was denoted by a longer and deeper cut or score. A. S. scor, 
20." Skeat. Accounts were crudely kept by making a notch or incis- 
ion (i. e. a score) for each article sold ; hence a bill, or account charged, 
was called a score? — 54. stands, i. e. 'upon a pole,' as Holinshed 
says. — 56. pearl = wealth or rather ornament [Malone] ? chief no- 
bility [Nases] ? ^'- Pearl maybe used generically as well as to express 
a single specimen. So in Henry F, IV, i, 247, 'the intertissued robe of 
gold and pearl. ' — " Perhaps in the present passage 'pearl' is suggested 
by the row of pearls which usually encircled a crown." Clark and 
Wright. The compact group is a unit in heart and hand. In shining 
armor it encircles Malcolm, as, at the conclusion of Scott's Lady of the 
Lake, the bright throng of lords and ladies encompasses James Fitz- 
James, who stands 

" The centre of the glittering ring,— 
And Suowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King!" 

This is poetry; but the critics must improve on Shakespeare, and 
some of them change 'pearl' to peers! — 60. expense. 'Extent,' 'ex- 
panse,' 'excess,' instead of 'expense' have been proposed. Any need 



198 MACBETH. [act v„ 

Before we reckon with your several loves, 

And make us even with you. My thanes and kinsmen, 

Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland 

In such an honor nam'd. What 's more to do, 

Which would be planted newly with the time, — 65 

As calling home our exil'd friends abroad 

That fled the snares of watchful tyranny. 

Producing forth the cruel ministers 

Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen, 

Who, as 't is thought, by self and violent hands '''O 

Took off her life, — this, and what needful else 

That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace 

We will perform in measure, time, and place : 

So, thanks to all at once and to each one. 

Whom we invite to see us crown'd at Scone. 

[Flourish. Exeunt. 

of change? V, iii, 44. — 61. loves. Ill, i, 121; V, ii, 3; Julius CcBsavy 
III, ii, 235. — 63. be earls, the first, etc. So Holinshed. — 64. to do. 
V, vi, 5. — 65. -would. I, vii, 34; iV, iii, 194. — 66. as = namely? for 
instance? Abbott, 113. — exil'd Iriends abroad = friends exiled 
abroad [Clark and WrightJ ? Ill, vi, 48, 49 — 68. producing forth. 
Latin sense of produce? Lat. pro, forward; Oucere, to lead, bring. 
Julius CcBsar, III, i, 229, 'Produce his body in the market place.' — 70. 
self and violent. 'Self and vain conceit,' Richard II, III, ii, 166. 
Macbeth, III, iv, 142. — A. S. self, own (in one's own,' 'his own,' etc.) ; 
Mid. Eng. self, same, very, self. "The origin is unknown; but per- 
haps Teut. base selba is for se-lib-a, where se is the same as the Latin 
se, and lib- is the same as in the base of Goth, laiha, a remnant, bi-laib- 
jan, to be left. If this be right, the orig. sense is 'left to one's self.' " 
Skeat; Abbott, 20. — 72. grace of Grace. "An expression Shakes, is 
fond of." Theobald. — Special meaning of Grace? Ill, i, 65. — 74. 
one. Note that it rhymes to Scone. So it rhymes to alone in Sonnet 
xxxix. " In the dialect of the North of England and of Scotland the 
w is still not sounded." IV, iii, 66. Abbott, 80. —75. Scone. II, iv, 31. 
— " The play closes with suggestive contrast of two soldiers' deaths." 
Morley. — Is the conclusion worthy of what precedes ? 



APPENDIX. 



ELOCUTIONARY ANALYSIS AND 

SUGGESTIONS FOR EXPRESSIVE READING * 

ACT I, Scene I. Vary the voice to suit the different characters. 

Scene II. What Moody man? Surprise and excitement blended 
are apt to be loud and quick. Read accordingly. 

This IS the sergeant. Surprise^ joy, gratitude and admiration, are 
mingled here. The utterance should be loud, quick, and high 
in 'pitch' (or musical tone). Sergeant here a trisyl. 

0, valiant cousin. Excitement, surprise, joy, great admiration. 
Loud, with full volume of voice, and rather high pitch, with 
'median stress' (i. e., the middle part of the accented vowel 
sound is enunciated forcibly). 

As whence the sun. The sergeant is Uunt, hrave, warm-hearted, full 
of admiration for Macbeth, with a dash of boastfulness. He 
would speak loud even to his king. His voice fails him at 
the last. Read accordingly. Captains, ten lines later, is a 
trisyl. 

From Fife, great king. Excitement, haste, joy, admiration. Loud 
and quick. 

Scene III . What are these, etc. Wonder, with slight awe, 'aspir- 
ated quality'; i. e., with prominence given to the consonants; 
whispering; not loud, as not wishing to attract attention. 

Live you, etc. Boldness, as of one having authority. Loud, with 
'radical stress'; i. e., with force on the first part of each ac- 
cented vowel sound. 

Good sir, why do you start, etc. A little of wonder at Macbeth's 
strange starting. For Macbeth had probably been thinking of 
becoming king, and he is struck by the astonishing coinci- 
dence of his thoughts with the witches' prediction! Spoken 
politely with rounded lips. Take great pains to read expres- 
sively. 

J' the name of truth, etc. This address is hold; without a particle 
of fear, and in the last part with a tone of defiance. Loud 
and deliberate. 

Stay, you imperfect speakers, etc. Earnest appeal. Spoken rapidly, 
but with occasional brief hesitation, as of one puzzled. Rather 
loud. 

The King hath happily, etc. Bold, polite, joyful, declamatory, ad- 

*Taken from our edition of Masterpieces in English Literature, uages 110 to 
193. 



200 APPENDIX. 



miring. Rather loud, and rather fast. He has his speech 
all committed to memory. 

Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor^ etc. In the following soliloquies, 
of course, Macbeth speaks in an undertone. The interjected 
thanks to Rosse and Angus are in an ordinary tone of voice. 
The last part of the soliloquy is in a whisper. 

Scene IV. My liegeythey aie not yet come hack, etc. This is 
spoken in a business way, respectfully, of course, to the King; 
and it is commented upon with some earnestness and in a tone 
of surprise and disappointment. 

worthiest cousin, etc. Great joy, admiration, affection. Loud, 
rather quick at first, with 'median stress' (^'. e., with a swell of 
the voice on each long accented vowel). ISo in the following 
speeches of Duncan in this scene. The pitch is somewhat 
high. 

The Prince of Cumberland, etc. Startled, angry, malicious, yet 
secret, so as not to be overheard or suspected. An undertone 
or loud whisper. 

Scene V. They met me in the day of success, etc. Very slow, with 
pauses, to think out and take in the meaning of every word. 
So, wherever the thought is greatly condensed, or the words are 
very pregnant with meaning. 

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, etc. Decision; earnestness intense, 
yet under control; a hard, metallic voice; slow utterance. A 
tone of exultation running through the last part of the 
soliloquy. 

What is your tidings, etc. Spoken sharply and quickly on the 
abrupt entrance of the attendant. 

The raven himself is hoarse, etc. A muttering, threatening tone. 
'Radical stress,' the words being spitefully spit out through 
the set teeth. Fierce determination. The last part rather 
loud, violent, yet with small 'volume' (or size of voice), 
it being a woman that speaks, and she not wishing to be over- 
heard. 'Aspirated quality,' the consonant sounds being des- 
perately blurted out. 

Great Glamis, etc. Rapturous admiration. Very loud; quick; 
very strong median stress; 'pure quality' (i. e., the vowel 
sounds being clear and full, and the consonant sounds not 
very prominent). 

My dearest love, etc. Love for Lady Macbeth, blended with treach- 
erous malice towards the king. Love is here soft in force, 
gently median in stress. Malice towards Duncan preponder- 
ates. It expresses itself by decision blended with secrecy. 
Radical stress. 

Your face, my Thane, is as a book, etc. Sly exultation; malice 
mingled with affection. Suppressed force; quick utterance; 
small volume. 

Scene VI. This castle hath a pleasant seat, etc. The first two 
speeches in this scene are full of calmness and tranquillity. 
The tone is pure {i. e., free from nasal, guttural, hissing, and 
prominent consonant sounds); the force is soft; the pitch is 



APPENDIX. 201 



medium (or average); the movement (or rate of utterance) is 
rather slow; the slides [i. e., inflections, or changes of pitch 
on a single long sound) are moderate. All the delivery is 
gentle, yet glad. 

See^ see! our honored hostess, etc. Joy, benevolence, politeness. 
Rather loud and rather fast; radical and median stress. 

All our service. Polite, ceremonious, yet, with metallic hardness; 
not out-gushing, but measured. She 'speaks a piece,' which 
she has learned for the occasion; speaks it prettily, but with 
the lips merely, not the heart. 

Where's the Thane of Cawdor, etc . A blunt, straightforward in- 
quiry, in a good-natured, business way and tone. 

Your servants ever, etc. Another polished, ceremonious, heartless, 
speech. A woman's voice, soft, but — hard! 

If it were done, etc . Secrecy ; slowness, because he is thinking 
out his plans, weighing consequences, and his language is 
weighty; his twisting thought requires long winding slides, 
i. e., extensive changes of musical pitch on the accented 
vowels. 

Scene VII. Will plead like angels, etc. Conscience begins to be 
aroused; Aorror makes him shudder. By a kind of imitation, 
'trumpet-tongued,' etc., should be uttered louder. Voice en- 
ergetic but tremulous; aspirated (rough) quality. 

I have no spur, etc. Impatience, abandonment of the plan. 

How now? what news? The circumstances require whispers or 
undertone through this dialogue. Rapid utterance. 

Was the hope drunk, etc. i£xpostulation, ridicule, anger, contempt. 
Rapid, 'jerky' utterance; radical {i. e., initial) stress; as loud 
as the necessity of secrecy will permit; strongly aspirated 
quality, the words being blown out hissing. 

I have given suck, etc. Still more energy. Initial stress with ex- 
pulsive force. 

Dashed the brains, etc. Suppressed scream of wrathful energy, 
hurtling through the teeth and nostrils. Loud, quick, rough, 
convulsive voice, yet a constant effort to speak softly. 

When Duncan is asleep, etc. Decision, precision, business-like, 
yet energetic; the last part with exultation, as if gloating over 
the successful accomplishment of the ingenious plan. Utter- 
ance rapid; radical stress; aspirated quality. 
ACT II, Scene I. How goes the night, etc. The tone of ordinary 
conversation. Whenever there appears no special reason for 
something unusual in the utterance, the stress (i. e., emphasis, 
or accent, or force, on the first part, middle part, or last part 
of an accented vowel), the time (i. e., the rate or movement, 
whether fast or slow), the force (whether soft or loud), the 
pitch (i. e., musical tone, whether high or low), the quality 
{i. e., musical quality, wiiether pure or impure), the slides 
(^. e., ascent or descent, musically speaking, of the voice on 
the long vowel sounds), and the volume [i. e., the bigness or 
size of the voice, depending partly on the openness or close- 



202 APPENDIX. 



ness of the aperture of the vocal organs) — all these should be 
moderate. 

Oet thee to ted, etc. Spoken carelessly in appearance. 

Is this a dagger? etc. Alarm mingled with curiosity; a puzzled 
state of mind; full of horror and foreboding, yet overruled by 
desperate determination. Horror, when not passionate but 
akin to awe, speaks in a low pitch; fitful utterance, yet very 
slow, by reason of long pauses; guttural quality; slight force;, 
large volume (not loud, however); falling slides, and tremu- 
lous, (sometimes called 'intermittent') stress. 

Thou sure and 'firm-set earth, hear not my steps, etc. Do not speak 
very loud in this utterance, as some actors do. It is midnight ; 
Macbeth must not awake Duncan! 

Scene II. That which hath made, etc. Excitement, secrecy, bold- 
ness, determination. Undertone; rapid, convulsive utterance, 
yet with long pauses. 

TP/io's there? — what, ho! Not very loud, but very quick. 

Alack! I am afraid, etc. Same tone, etc., as before Macbeth 
speaks. 

/ ha'oe done the deed, etc. Horror, consternation, remorse, secrecy y 
all extreme. Lady Macbeth tries to speak calmly, in a matter- 
of-fact way, and she maasurably succeeds; but Macbeth is a 
slave to terror and remorse. He speaks convulsively, gaspingly, 
with anguish. She gets out of patience with him, and finally 
scolds him quite sharply. His agony continues till they re- 
treat at the sound of the knocking. In this scene, from the 
close of Macbeth's soliloquy to the entrance of the porter, 
there is intense excitement, but also a felt need of silence. 
Read rapidly in an undertone or whisper. 

Scene III. Faith, sir, etc. Spoken, like all of his gabble, in a 
rollicking way, with frequent hiccoughs. 

horror! horror! horror! etc. Here intense horror is followed 
by a desire to ''rouse the neighborhood.' The horror for an in- 
stant awes to silence, but it soon gives way to terror that 
shrieks " .-iwake! awake 1^'' etc. We may suppose the language 
of Macduff, as far as "Awake! awake!" to be pronounced 
with shuddering awe, in a low pitch, median or final stress, 
aspirated quality, with rapid utterance. 

Had I hut died, etc. Assumed earnestness and pretended grief. 
Loud; quick; median stress. 

Who can he wise, amazed, etc. Assumed earnestness, loyalty, love, 
and anger. Sham excitement; loud; quick; median and rad- 
ical stress, moderate pitch. 

And when we have our naked frailties hid, etc. Decision, anger, 
solemnity. At first, moderate time, pitch, and force, with rad- 
ical stress; next, low pitch, soft force, slow time, and median 
stress; at last {i. e., beginning with "awcZ thence against"), 
moderate pitch, loud force, moderate time, and radical stress. 
The instructor should insist, all through this play, that every 
passage and every sentence shall be, in every particular, cor- 



APPENDIX. 203 



rectly read aloud. This will wonderfully bring out the merit 
of the play. 

Threescore and ten, etc. Awe. Rather soft force, low pitch, slow- 
time, and somewhat impure quality (^. e., with slight promi- 
nence to consonant and hoarse pectoral sounds). 
ACT III, ScEN'E I. Thou hast it now, etc. This utterance I fancy 
to have been extremely slow, energetic, with long pauses. 
The OM, in /(9w?Zy, should be much prolonged, the dipthongal 
sound being struck on a moderate pitch, but the voice sliding 
down to a deep tremulous pectoral on the last part of the syl- 
lable. 

Tet it was said, etc. This is uttered in a matter of fact way, as far 
as, "But, hush." 'Circumflex slides' (the voice passing 
through what would be termed in music 'higher, lower, and 
higher," or 'lower, higher, and lower,' making a wave in the 
pitch) prevail. This wave of the voice is on the long sounds of 
the accented syllables. 

Here's our chief guest, etc. The following dialogue requires only 
moderate force, time, etc., as far as, "Bring them before us." 
Very polite. 

To he thus is nothing, etc. Undertone, so as not to be heard far. 
Impatience and spite, and towards the last, remorse; ending 
with angry defiance. 'Vanishing stress' on the most impatient 
utterances. The forcible utterance of the last part of an ac- 
cented vowel, the voice being jerked out at the end of the syl- 
lable, is particularly appropriate in the expression of vexation,, 
impatience, etc. 

Are you so gospelled ? etc. Here we have the circumflex slides 
again. This wave of the voice is especially adapted to irony,, 
mockery, railing, etc. It usually expresses, indefinitely or 
conditionally, some idea contrasted with another to which the 
straight slide belongs. 

Now, if you have a station, etc. This is uttered with decision and 
energy, so as to inspire confidence. It is bold; quite loud, 
but not so as to be overheard; with radical stress; rather quick 
time; rather aspirated quality; not much volume. This man- 
ner prevails to the end of the colloquy. 

So is he mine, etc. Secrecy, but such as befits a king: an under- 
tone therefore. Hate. Aspirated quality; low pitch; initial 
stress. 

Scene II. Noughfs had, etc. Spoken with sighs and weariness; 
high pitch. 

How now, my lord? etc. Tenderness. Soft force, high pitch, 
median stress. 

We have scotched the snake, etc. Decision; desperate resolve. Not 
loud, but forcible, with 'expulsive stress' (the accented sylla- 
bles being expelled with much breath) ; an earnest conversa- 
tional tone. 

Duncan is in. his grave, etc. Sorrow and remorse. Vanishing 
stress; plaintive; half wailing distress; high pitch; aspirated. 



204 APPENDIX, 

Come on^ gentle my lord, etc. Tender and soothing love. Soft; 
median; pure quality; high pitch. 

So shall I, love, eto.. Effort at hope; but weak from remorse and 
fear. Plaintive; high pitch; sighing, distressful; rising slides. 

Oh, full of scorpions, etc. Distress. Vanishing stress; high; aspi- 
rated. 

Thsre''s comfort yet, etc. He cheers himself. Decision. Initial 
stress. 

Ere the 'bat hath -flown, etc. Desperation, horror. Low pitch; 
slow; undertone. 

Be innocent, etc. "Small volume," appropriate to endearment. 

Come, seeling night, etc. Awe and horror. Low; slow; large vol- 
ume; undertone; initial stress. 

Scene III. Oh, treachery ! etc. Surprise; shouting; scorn. 
Loud; quick; strongly aspirated; explosive. 

Scene IV. Tou know your own degrees, etc. Polished courtesy, 
avoiding command. Soft; median; quick. 

There'' s blood, etc. Secrecy. Whispering; initial stress. 

Then comes my fit, etc. Great impatience. Vanishing stress; as- 
pirated quality; undertone; quick; small volume. 

My royal lord, etc. Rather loud, but polite; median; circumflex; 
slight volume ; pure quality. 

Thou canst not say I did it, etc. Terror. Very loud; tremulous; 
quick; explosive; rising slides. 

Sit, worthy friends, etc. Courteous, but authoritative; polite, 
earnest appeal. High; quick; loud. 

Are you a man f U proper stuff, etc. Reproach, impatience, scorn. 
Radical; nasal; aspirated; "expulsive" stress; quick. 

Prithee! etc. Secrecy. Loud whisper to his wife; spasmodic 
utterance. 

Why, what care I? etc. Loud defiance, which instantly melts into 
terror. 'Intermittent stress' at the last. 

Blood hath been shed, etc. Undertone to his wife; tremor; gasping. 

My worthy lord, etc. Quite loud, cheerful, re-assuring. 

I do forget, etc. Apologetic, courteous, confused; desperate at- 
tempt at cheerfulness. Fits and starts in the voice, with 
stammering; radical now; now median; rather high pitch. 

Avaunt! etc. A scream of terror — defiance yielding instantly to 
consternation. Very loud; very quick; very high; guttural 
quality at last, with convulsive gasps. 

Think of this, etc. Very decided and emphatic, but polite; as- 
sumed indifference. 

What 7nan dare, etc. Frantic terror, gradually giving way to 
frantic spasmodic coura2:e; convulsive tremor; very loud; 
very quick; explosive radical stress on the last. 

Can such things be, etc. Wonder. He slowly recovers from his 
terror. 

/ pray you, speak not, etc. Anxious appeal ; decision blended 
with entreaty. High; quick; median. 

It will hatue blood, etc. Suppressed remorse, fear and despair. 

I hear it, etc. Decision; reckless resolve. Quick; radical. 



APPENDIX. 205 

Scene V. Have I not reason, etc. Scolding. Aspirated; loud: 
radical; rather quick. 

Scene VI. The gracious Duncan was pitied, etc. Irony. Cir- 
cumflex. Whenever the thought is winding, crooktd, sarcas- 
tic, etc., the wave {ox circumflex) is likely to be appropriate. 

The son of Duncan, etc. Matter of fact, business style. 

TouHl rue the time. 'Circumflex' on rue and time. 

Some holy angel. Solemn, but fervent. Median; quick utterance,, 
because instant and rapid action is sought. 
ACT IV, Scene 1. How now, you .... hags, etc. Bold, slow, 
scornful, defiant. Loud, large volume. 

/ conjure you, etc. Same. Radical stress, as is always the case in 
commands. 

Tell me, thou unknown power, etc. Awe. Low; slow. 

Then live, Macduff, etc. Very determined, yet soliloquizing, and. 
so not very loud. Radical. 

What is this? etc. Wonder, without fear. Somewhat aspirated. 
Moderate force; slow. 

That will never he, eXc. Elated. Loud; quick; radical. 

Tell me, if your art, etc. Earnest appeal. 

I will he satisfied, etc. Fiery and fierce anger. Aspirated; gut- 
tural; initial stress; quick. 

Thou art too like, etc. Surprise, alarm, defiance, anger, fear, hor- 
ror. Aspirated; loud; spasmodic; explosive; tremulous; deep 
guttura^ shuddering. 

Infected he the air, etc. Anger; hate; desperation. Aspirated; 
loud; quick; expulsive radical. 

Time, thou anticipafst, etc. Undertone; quick; rough; radical. 

Scene II. He had none, etc. Impatience. High; quick; van- 
ishing. 

Wisdom,QtG. Impatience; complaint. Vanishing stress; high. 

I pray you, school yourself, etc. Matter of fact; kindness. Scft 
force; rather quick. 

As hirds do, mother. This small talk, and all light conversation or 
unimportant matter, should be spoken rapidly. A child's 
voice. 

Bless you, fair dame, etc. Hurry, and earnest kindness. Very 
quick; loud; radical. 

/ have done no harm, etc. Earnest; alarmed . Quick; rather loud. 

What are these faces ? eto,. Fright. Loud; very quick. 

/ hope in no place, etc. Bold, defiant, scornful. Loud; radical; 
quick. 

He has killed me, mother, etc. Do not read this tamely. 

Scene III. Let us seek out, etc. Weak, despondent. Slow; 
feeble; median. 

Let us rather hold fast, etc. Bold; energetic. Loud; quick; radi- 
cal. 

What I helieve, etc. Assumed weakness. Moderate; median; be- 
coming cool and business-like. 

But Macbeth is, etc. Moderation ; assumed despondency. 



206 APPENDIX. 



Perchance, even there where J, etc. Circumflex; or it may be read 
in a business way. 

Wh^ in that rawness, etc. Pointed inquiry. Rather sharp, metal- 
lic voice; quick; radical. 

I pray you, let not my jealousies, etc. Circumflex, as the thought 
winds. 

Bleed, bleed, poo?- country, etc. Grief and despondency. Slow; 
median; hiffh. 

I would not be the villain, etc. Indignation. Rather loud; expul- 
sive; rather quick; aspirated. 

Be not offended, etc. Assumed coolness and hardness; putting on 
the mocking unsympathizing tone of a villain. 

It is myself I mean, etc. Coolness and sneering . 

Not in the legions, Qtc. Anger. Loud; quick; radical; aspirated. 

/ grant Mm bloody, etc. Circumflex; mocking; cold and heart- 
less; dismissing his assumed diabolic thoughts as mere mat- 
ter of course, not to be ashamed of, but rather as ground for 
malicious satisfaction! A guttural, sensual tone. 

Boundless intemperance, etc. Apologetic; persuasive; argumenta- 
tive. 

With this there grows, etc. Assumed malicious hardened avarice. 
Avoid the median: rather low pitch; g-uttural and growling. 

This avarice, etc. Serious, and somewhat emphatic. 

Yet do not fear, etc. Persuasive; moderate argument. 

But I have none. Pretended swaggering and boastfulness of a 
villain proud of his villainy. Coarse; guttural; loud; slow, 
cool, scornful, aspirated; radical. 

O Scotland! Scotland! etc. Great grief. Loud; quick; high; 
vanishing. 

Fit to govern! No, not to live! etc. Intense wrathful energy. 
Very loud; explosive radical. 

nation miserable, etc. Loud grief, ending in despair. 

Macduff, this noble passion, etc. Malcolm's whole manner now 
changes. He becomes cheerful, noble, emphatic in his purity 
and truth; closing with exultation. Loud; radical and median; 
pure quality; large volume. 

A most miraculous work, etc. Slight admiration. Rather loud; 
median and radical. 

Alas, poor country ! etc. Distress. Loud; median and vanishing. 

Why, — well .... No; they were, etc. Long pauses; slow; slight 
force. 

All my pretty ones? etc. An agony of grief. High; convulsive. 

0, hell-kite, etc. Intensest wrath hissing. 

But I must also feel it as a man, etc. IJnder this crushing blow, 
his voice falters, sobs and wails. 

Sinful Macduff, etc. Self-reproach, with tears and sobs. 

Be this the whetstone, etc. Loud, cheerful, decisive. 

Front to front, etc. Frenzied anger and hate. Very much as- 
pirated; explosive; very loud. 

This time goes manly, etc. Cheerful. Loud; quick. 



APPENDIX. 207 

ACT Y, Scene I. / have two nights watched^ etc. Undertone till 
Lady M. enters, and then whispering. 

Lo, you, here she comes, etc. Whispering. 

Tet here^s a spot, etc. A cry of anguish. High; aspirated with 
sighs. 

Out, damned spot ! etc. Radical; aspirated; high; slow. 

One; two, etc. She counts the striking of the clock. Slow, and 
then quick on the words, " Why, then 'tis time," etc. 

Hell is murky! etc. Scornful, sneering? 6v intensely horrified and 
shuddering? Pause after it. Aspirated. 

Tet who would have thought, etc. Horror. Low; slow; soft; 
shuddering? aspirated. 

The Thane of Fife had a wife, etc. Wailing. High; slow, pure 
tone. 

What! will these hands, etc. Impatient distress. Vanishing. 

No more 0^ that, Qtc. Command; decision. Quick, firm voice, yet 
in undertone; radical. 

Here's the smell of the blood, etc. A cry of anguish. Very high; 
vanishinLr; slow. 

Wash your hands, etc. Undertone; quick; impetuous; angry, as^ 
pirated. 

To bed, to bed, etc. Very quick ; much aspirated. 

Foul whisperings, etc. Very solemn. Low; slow; soft. 

Look after her, etc. Serious; business tone. 

Scene 1 1. The English power is near, etc. Matter of fact. 
Moderation, therefore, in pitch, time, etc . 

Scene III. Bring me no more reports, etc. Excitement; anger; 
scorn; exultation. Loud; high on emphatic syllables; explo- 
sive radical; large volume; aspirated; quick. 

The devil, etc. Great anger. Very loud; very rough; very quick; 
explosive; large volume. 

Go prick thy face, etc. Anger. Contempt at littleness and at boy- 
ish cowardice may make the volume moderate or even small. 

1 am sick at heart, etc. Distressful; disgusted; impatient. As- 
pirated; expulsive, vanishing. 

/ have lived long enough, etc. Plaintive. 

Curses, not loud but deep, etc. Aspirated; varying pitch, forcible; 
radical, vanishing. 

ril fight, etc. Savage energy. Very loud; quick; radical, im- 
pure; large volume. 

Cure her of that, etc. Calmer, but yet in a beseeching tone . ^ " 

Throw physic, etc. Anger; contempt; haste. Loud; quick; radi- 
cal; aspirated; small volume. 

If thou couldst. Doctor, cast, etc. Grim humor. Radical, business 
tone, with energy. 

Scene IV. Cousins, I hope, etc. Matter of fact through this 
scene. All the vocal elements moderate. 

Scene V. Hang out our banners, etc. Command. Loud; bold; 
scornful. 

Till famine, etc. Defiant. Loud; quick; radical. 

1 ha/ve almost forgot, etc. Serious. Low; slow; small volume. 



208 APPENDIX. 



She should have died, etc. Sorrow? Low; slow; soft; small 

volume? 
To-morrow, and to-morrow, etc. Solemn ; despairing. Low pitch, 

monotone; slow; slight force. 
Thou comst to use, etc. Angry. Quick; loud. 
Liar and slave! etc. Great anger. Very loud and quick. 
To doubt the equivocation, etc. Puzzled; alarmed. Very rapid; 

small volume; aspirated. 
Arm, arm, and out! etc. Excited command. Very loud; quick; 

large volume. 
Blow, wind! etc. Shouting defiance. 

Scene VIL Tyrant, show thy face! etc. Loud defiance. 
This way, 7ny lord, etc. Joyful. Quick; loud; median; pure; 

large. 
Why should I play the Roman fool, etc. Scorn. Radical; loud; 

aspirated with sneers. 
Turn, hell-hound, etc. The first half of this dialogue is loud, bold, 

defiant. 
Accursed he that tongue, etc. Imprecating; desponding; distrust- 
ful; feeble. Aspirated; small volume. 
Then yield thee, coward, etc. Scorn; ridicule. Loud; radical; cir- 
cumflex; small volume. 
ril not yield, etc. He rouses himself grandly, and dies with a 

heroic bravery that partially wins back our respect. 
I would, the friends we miss, etc. This dialogue is quite rapid. 
Then he is dead? etc. The old Spartan must have spoken this 

with deep sorrow; from which, however, he instantly recovers. 
Hail, king, etc. Great joy. Very loud; quick; median. 
We shall not spend, etc. Joy; gratitude; business. Rather loud; 

rather quick; median; rather large volume. 
Whafs more to do, etc. Business tone with something of joy. 

Radical; rather loud; moderate in time, pitch and volume. 



[From Middleton's The Witch. Date doubtful.'] 
Song ahove.* 

Come away, come away, 

Hecate, Hecate, come away ! 
Hec. I come, I come, I come, I come, 

With all the speed I may. 

With all the speed I may. 
Where 'sStadlinI 
[Voice ahove.] Here. 
Hec. Where 's Puckle? 
[Voice ahove.] Here; 

And Hoppo too, and Hellwain too; 

We lack but you, we lack but you ; 

Come away, make up the count. 
Hec. I will but 'noint, and then I mount. 

[A Spirit like a cat descends. 

*Eeferred to in Act IV, Scene I, line 43, note. 



i 



APPENDIX. 209 



[Voice above.'] There 's one comes down to fetch his dues, 
A kiss, a coll, a sip of blood ; 
And why thou stay'st so long 

I muse, I muse. 
Since the air 's so sweet and good. 

Hec. O, art thou come? 

What news, what news? 

Spirit. All goes still to our delight: 
Either come, or else 
Refuse, refuse. 

Hec. Now I 'm f urnish'd for the flight. 

Fire. Hark, hark, the cat sings a brave treble in her own language ! 

Hec. [going iqj.] Now 1 go, now I fly, 
Malkin my sweet spirit and I. 
O what a dainty pleasure 't is 
To ride in the air 
When the moon shines fair, 
And sing and dance, and toy and kiss ! 
Over woods, high rocks and mountains, 
Over seas, our mistress' fountains, 
Over steep towers and turrets. 
We fly by night, 'mongst troops of spirits: 
No ring of bells to our ears sounds. 
No howls of wolves, no yelps of hounds; 
No, not the noise of water's breach, 
Or cannon' s throat our height can reach. 
[ Voices above . ] No ring of bells, etc . 

A little later in Middleton's Witch is the song mentioned in IV, i, 
44, p. 148, It is as follows: 

Black spirits and white, red spirits and gray, 
Mingle, mingle, mingle, you that mingle may ! 

Titty, Tiffin, keep it stiff in ; 

Firedrake, Puckey, make it lucky; 

Liard, Robin, you must bob m. 
Round, around, around, about, about ! 
All ill come running in, all good keep out ! 

SPECIMEN EXAMINATION PAPERS. 

[From the English Civil Service Commission Paper s.*] 
A (First Act chiefly). 

1. To what group of Shakespearian plays (foes Macbeth belong? 
Give the date. 

2. What historical allusions are made in the play? 

3. State the part performed by Macduff in the action. 

4. Give the chief points of contrast between the characters of 
Banquo and Macbeth. 

5. State by whom and on what occasion the following lines were 
uttered: — 

{a) Like valor's minion carv'd out his passage. 
(6) He shall live a man forbid. 

*They "Hfbfi. mint., ani.te and cummin,'''' for the most part, and neglect the 
the weightier matters.— Editor. 



210 APPENDIX. 

[c) Are ye fantastical, or that indeed 
Which outwardly ye show ? 

[d) It is a peerless kinsman. 

[e) They met me in the day of success. 

[f) The love that follows us sometime is our trouble. 

{g) False face must hide what the false heart doth know. 

6. Give instance of Shakespeare's use of the prefix dis, as in dis- 
burse, disbench, etc. 

7. Give instance of phrases in which the words proof, sooth, self 
(in composition), Jiome, golden, work, and time are used. 

8. Give a few examples of Shakespeare's use of the adjective with 
a condensed meaning or with a causal force. 

9. Explain the phrase, trammel up the consequence. 

10. Give some examples of Shakespeare's employment of the ad- 
jective as an adverb; and explain the reason. 

B (Second Act chiefly). 

1. Give a short account of the events in the Second Act. 

2. What is the meaning that Shakespeare intends to give to the 
knocking in Scene ii ? 

3. What is chiefly said and done in Scene iv ? 

4. State by whom and on what occasion the following lines were 
uttered : — 

(a) And such an instrument I was to use. 

(6) Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care. 

(c) The multitudinous sea incarnadine. 

(d) Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope 
The Lord's anointed temple. 

(e) And let us not be dainty of leave-taking. 

If) And yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp. 

5. Annotate the above lines. 

6. Give some instances of an adjective made out of a noun by the 
addition of ed. 

7. Explain the word methought, and give other instances of the 
idiom. 

8. Give some examples of Shakespeare's use of a = one. 

9. Where are Scone and Colme-kill? 

10. Give some examples of Shakespeare's third person plural in 
s; and explain why he uses it. 

C (Thikd Act chiefly). 

1. Give an account of what happens at the banquet in Scene iv. 

2. What is Lennox's view of the situation? 

3. State by whom, of whom, and on what occasion the following 
lines were uttered: — 

(a) Thou hast it now, king, Cawdor, Glamis, all. 
(6) He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor. 

(c) Shoughs, wate^-rugs and demi-wolves are cleped 
All by the nanie of dogs. 

(d) After life's fitful fever he sleeps well. 



APPENDIX. ,211 

[e) As broad and general as the casing air. 
(/■) And you all know security 
Is mortal's chiefest enemy. 

4. Annotate the above lines. 

5. Give the meaning and instances of Shakespeare's use of still, 
for, a (= on), and cloudy. 

6. Mention some examples of Shakespeare's use of with = hy. 

7. Give the meaning of the phrases, Ms life, my nearest of life, the 
common ear, impostors to. 

8. Give a few examples of Shakespeare's employment of prolepsis. 

9. Write down some examples of participles in ate. 

10. What is the dativus ethicus ? Give some instances. 

D (Fourth and Fifth Acts chiefly). 

1. What persons are shown to Macbeth by the witches? 

2. Give a short account of the dialogue between Malcolm and 
MacdufE. 

3. Contrast, as fully as you can, the feelings of Lady Macbeth be- 
fore the murder of Duncan, and afterwards in the sleep-walking 
scene (Act V, i). Quote where you can. 

4. What effect has his crime produced upon the mind of Macbeth, 
especially in his social relations? 

5. State by whom, of whom, and on what occasion the following 
lines were uttered: — 

(a) The flighty purpose never is o'ertook, 
Unless the deed go with it. 

(b) He wants the natural touch. 

(c) Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell. 

(d) Violent sorrow seems 
A modern ecstacy. 

(e) This push 
Will chair me ever, or dis-seat me now. 

{/) The tyrant's people on both sides do fight. 
{g) Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's debt. 

6. Annotate the above lines. 

7. Give some ir stances of hybrids, like hodefnents. ' 

8. Explain and give examples of Shakespeare's use of mortal; 
head; to friend; imperial; so; wear; and motives. 

9. What allusions occur in this play to touching for the King^s 
Evil ? Explain them. 

10. Explain the following words, and give examples of Shakes- 
peare's use of them: Mated; sag; oblivious-, speculation; dusty; 
avouches; harness; kerns; and score. 

[Prize Examination in Macbeth. Hollins Institute, Vir- 
ginia, June, 1882, Under the charge of Prof. Wm. Taylor 
Thorn.] 

Textual. 

1. When was Macbeth first published, ar>d in what form . 

2. At what period in Shakespeare's artibt life would the general 
style and characteristics of verse place the play? 



212 . APPENDIX. 



3. How are the upward and downward limits of the date of the 
play fixed? 

4. What incident may have suggested the subject of Macbeth to 
Shakespeare ? 

5. Dowden, following Malone, places the date of the play about 
what year, and on what internal evidence? 

6. What is the opinion of the Clarendon Press editors on this 
subject? 

7. Whence did Shakespeare get the materials of the play? 

8. And what incidents, not belonging to the original story of 
Macbeth, has he incorporated in the play? 

9. Is there anything historical in the play? 

10. What is the theory of the Clarendon Press editors as to inter- 
polation, and by whom? 



11. Explain use of " of" in "<?/ kerns and gallowglasses is sup- 
plied." I, ii, 13. 

12. Explain use of " 07i" in " eaten on the insane root." I, iii, 84. 

13. Explain constructions — " in viewing o'er the rest," &c. 1, iii, 
94; — " like the leaving it." I, iv, 8; — " old turning the key." II, iii, 
2. 

14. Explain force of " loho " — " who was the thane lives yet." I, 
iii, 109. 

15. Explain construction — " as 'twere a careless trifle." I, iv, 11 ; 
— " as they had seen me." II, ii, 27; — " AnH please heaven he shall 
not." Ill, vi, 19. 

16. Explain construction — " a careless trifle." I, iv, 11; — ^'■sight- 
less substances." I, v, 47. 

17. Explain use of " to " — the late dignities heaped up to them." 
I, vi, 19; "And to that dauntless temper of his mind." Ill, i, 51 . 

18. What is peculiar in the adjective use in " Unto our gentle 
senses." I, vi, 3; — " eaten on the insane root " ? I, iii, 84. 

19. Explain the use of " hut only " — " but only vaulting ambition. 
I, vii, 26. 

20. Explain " would " — " which would be worn now," &c. I, vii, 
34;—" That would be howled out in the," &c. IV, iii, 194. 

21. Construction of line, "Hear not my steps, which way they 
walk:' II, i, 57. 

22. Explain form gives^ "Words to the heat of deeds too cool 
breath gives." II, i, 61. 

23. Illustrate power of conversion of parts of speech by, " Hath 
trifles former knowings.^' II, iv, 4. 

24. Explain, " Go not my horse the better." Ill, i, 25. 

25. Explain, " wjMe then, God be with you." Ill, i, 43. 

26. " There is none but he." Ill, i, 53. 

27. " Unsafe the while, that we must lave," &c. Ill, ii, 33. 

28. Explain, " Impostors ^(? true fear." Ill, iv, 64. 

29. Explain " To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself." II, 
ii^ 73- — " 2^0 fright you thus methinks I am too savage." IV, ii, 70; 
— " blame his pester'd senses to recoil and start." V, ii, 22. 



APPENDIX. 213 

30. What is the meaning of " Aroint thee witch! " ? I, iii, 6. 

31. What beliefs are suggested in — 

" But in a sieve I thither sail, 

And like a rat wittiout a tail " ? I, iii, 8-9. 

32. What is the meaning of fantastical in *' are ye fantastical ? " 
I, iii, 53; — " whose murder yet is but fantastical " ? I, iii, 139. 

38. What was a harbinger? I, iv ,45; and du purveyor? I, vi, 33. 

34. Explain — 

" Herein I teach you 

How you shall hid God Hid us for your pains, 

And thank us for your trouble." I, vi, 12 14. 

35. Explain " if the assassination could trammel up the conse- 
quence, and catch with his surcease success.^"* I, vi, 3-4. 

36. Explain " That memory, the warder of the brain shall be a 
fume, and the receipt of reason a limbec only." I, vii, 65-67. 

87. What is the meaning of " travelling lamp'''' ? II, iv, 7. 

38. Meaning of " Nature's copy's not eterne" ? Ill, ii, 38. 

39. What is meant by " Our hostess keeps her state'" ? Ill, iv, 5. 

40. Explain " witches' mummy^ IV, i, 28. 

41. What is meant by the blood-bolter'' d Banquo" ? lY, i, 123. 

42. What courtier-like reference does Shakespeare make in 
bringing in " the evil " ? IV, iii, 146. 

43. Explain the meaning of " rise from her bed, throw her night- 
gown upon her." V, i, 4. 

44. Explain — 

" For their dear causes 
Would to the bleeding and the grim alarm 
Excite the mortified man." V, ii, 3-5. 

45. Meaning of '^ pester'' d senses" ? V, ii, 23. 

46. Explain — 

" They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, 

But, bear-like, I must fight the course.'''' V, vii, 1-3. 

ESTHETIC. 

47. What do you understand the " Weird Sisters " in Macbeth to 
be? 

48. Does Macbeth, or Lady Macbeth say (II, ii, 16) : " Did not 
you speak?" And what do you think of Hunter's distribution of 
speeches adopted by Furness ? — 

" Macbeth: I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise? 
Lady Macbeth: I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. 
Macbeth: Did not you speak? 
Lady Macbeth: When? Now? 
Macbeth: As I descended. 
Lady Macbeth: Ay. " 

49. Give your impression of this whole Scene II, and of the 
e&eoX oiihQ knocking. 1,57. 

50. What is Coleridge's opinion of the Porter-Scene (II, iii, 1-37); 



214 APPENDIX. 



and your own opinion? Can you recall anything similar elsewhere 
in Shakespeare ? 

51. How do you reconcile Macbeth's prompt murder of the 
grooms with his horror at the mere thought of killing Duncan, and 
his refusal to carry the bloody daggers back to the chamber ? 

52. Is Lady Macbeth's swoon on hearing of the murder of the 
grooms, real or feigned— and the grounds of your opinion ? 

53. How do you explain the difference in Lady Macbeth's man- 
ner towards Macbeth after the Banquo ghost scene (III, iv), as com- 
pared with her bearing after the murder of Duncan (II, ii) ? 

54. Do you regard Lady Macbeth as a suicide? And what do 
you consider the causes of her death? 

55. What effect does her death have upon Macbeth, and upon 
our feeling towards him? 

56. The character of Macbeth in, brief ? 

57. The lesson of the play? 



APPENuIX. 



215 



SOME TOPICS FOR ESSAYS. 



Witchcraft in Shakespeare. 

The Weird Sisters. 

Fair is foul and foul is fair. 

Macbeth's Claims to the Throne. 

Banquo's real Character. 

Hecate. 

The Battles of Act I, Scene II. 

Anachronisms in the Play. 

St. Colme's Inch. 

Colme-Kill. 

Macbeth's Bravery. 

Duncan's Character. 

Macbeth's Residences. 

The Story of King Duff. 

The Treason of Cawdor. 

Polite Speeches in Macbeth. 

The Character of Malcolm. 

Macbeth's Letter to his Wife. 

Macbeth's Piety. 

Macbeth's Religious Belief. 

Macbeth's Conscience. 

You murdering Ministers. 

Imagery drawn from the Theatre. 

Word-painting in Macbeth. 

The Love that follows us some- 
times is our Trouble. 

Even-handed Justice. 

Vaulting Ambition. 

Wine and Wassail. 

Banquo's Cursed Thoughts. 

Shakesp'SBre's mode of indicating 
indirectly the time and circum- 
stances. 

The Air-drawn Dagger. 

Scottish Second-sight. 

The owl, the raven, and other 
ominous things in Macbeth. 

Had he not resembled my Father. 

1 could not say Amen. 

Sleep no more. 

Verbal Plays in Macbeth. 



Color as indicative of Courage. 

The Drunken Porter. 

The Labor we Delight in Physics 
Pain. 

The Murder of the Chamberlain. 

Lady Macbeth's Swooning. 

Flight of Malcolm and Donal- 
bain. 

Prodigies at the Death of Princes. 

Scone and the Coronation Seat. 

Thou hast it now. 

Macbeth and the two Murderers. 

The third Murderer. 

Better be with the Dead. 

A Solemn Sur>per. 

Lady Macbeth at the Banquet. 

The Ghost at the Banquet. 

The Moon and Incantations. 

The Witches' Cauldron. 

Harpier, Graymalkin, and Pad- 
dock. 

The Three Apparitions in Act IV. 

The Show of Eight Kings and 
Banquo. 

Macduff's Abandonment of his 
Family. 

Malcolm's Testing of Macduff. 

James's Touching for the Evil. 

Ross's Tidings to Macduff. 

Significance of the Sleep-walking 
Scene. 

Macbeth's Ennui. 

The Queen's Death. 

The Legend of the Moving Grove. 

The Final Struggle. 

The Lessons of the Play. 

A Single Scene in Macbeth. 

A Character in the Play. 

Holinshed's Narrative. 

Scott's Account of Macbeth. 

Thinking in Metaphors. 



INDEX OF WORDS, PHRASES, AND TOPICS. 



a one, 139. 

abuse, strange and self, 
139. 

abuse the curtain' d 
sleep, 94. 

access, 76. 

accursed, hour, 154. 

Acheron, 140. 

act, troubled with 
man's, 111. 

act, swelling, 67. 

actual performances, 
177. 

adage, 87. 

addition, 66, 121. 

address' d, 98. 

adhere = cohere? 87. 

adjectives, used adver- 
bially ? 104. 

admir'd disorder, 137. 

adverbs from adjec- 
tives, 194. 

advise you where, 122. 

^olus, 59. 

^schylus, 179. 

afeard, 65, 86. 

afeard, or affeer'df 163. 

affection, 166. 

Agamemnon of -^schy- 
lus, 179. 

agents, 127. 

alack, 97. 

alarm, 181. 

alarum'd, 94. 

Aleppo, 59. 

Alexandrine line? 55, 
159, 176. 

all, for any? 124. 

all is the fear, 156. 

all to all, 135. 

all-hailed, 74. 
216 



all-hail hereafter, 78. 
all things, or all-thing? 

115. 
alliteration, 125, 146. 
always thought, 123. 
ambition, vaulting, 85. 
amen, I could not say, 

98. 
amphibious section, 91, 

107. 
anachronism, 55, 58. 
analysis, elocutionary, 

199 etc. 
and, or an = if ? 143. 
angel = devil, 195. 
angels, brightest fell, 

162. 
angerly, you look, 140. 
annoyance, 180. 
anointed temple, 105. 
anon, 52. 

anon we'll drink, 130. 
antic round, 154. 
anticipat'st, exploits, 

155. 
apparitions, 149, 150, 

151. 
apply to Ban quo, 126. 
approve by his lov'd, 

80. 
arbitrate, strokes must, 

188. 
are come, 70. 
argument, 109. 
armed head, 149, 150. 
arm'd rhinoceros, 136. 
aroint thee, witch, 59. 
art, there's. no, 71. 
artificial sprites, 141. 
as, omitted? 104. 
as = as if ? 98. 
as 't were, 70. 
as who should say, 144. 



assassins, negotiations, 

123. 
assay of art, 170. 
astrological terms, 112. 
at a point, 169. 
at first and last, 129. 
at odds with morning, 

138. 
atheistic utterances, 

189, 190. 
at quiet, never, 103. 
attempt and not the 

deed, 97. 
attend our pleasure, 

117. 
audit, make their, 82. 
auger-hole, 109. 
augures, 138. 
authoriz'd by, 134. 
avaunt, and quit, 135. 
avoiding from his horse, 

26. 
avouch it, 122. 
aweary of the sun, 191. 
ay, or I? 101. 
aye accursed, 154. 



babe, new-born, 84. 
babe, of Lady Macbeth, 

87. 
baboon's blood, 147. 
baby of a girl, 136. 
Bacon and Shakes., 118, 

148. 
badg'd with blood, 108. 
baited with curse, 195. 
bane, 186. 
bank and school 

(shoal?) 83. 
banquet and Banquo, 73. 
Banquo, 12, 13, 90, 115, 
. 151 etc. 



INDEX, 



211 



iDattle, our first, 191. 
battlements, ominous, 

7(5. 
beards, of witches, 62. 
bear-like, 192. 
beat them backward, 

188. 
Beelzebub, 102. 
beguile the time, 78. 
beldams, 140. 
bell, signal for murder? 

92, 93, 96. 
bellman, 96. 
Bellona's bridegroom, 

57. 
Ben Jonson's verses, 

194, 195. 
bend up, 89. 
benison, 114. 
besides this Duncan, 84. 
be'st slain, 193. 
bestow' d, 116. 
bestows, 143. 
bestride our birthdom, 

161. 
better part of man, 195. 
bid God yield us, 81. 
bidding, our great, 138. 
bides, in a ditch, 131. 
bill = catalogue? 121. 
Birnam wood, 26, 151. 
birthdom, downfall, 

161. 
bladed corn, 148. 
blanch'd with fear, 137. 
blank verse, 177, 180. 
blanket of the dark, 77. 
blaspheme, 167. 
blasted heath, 63. 
bleeding; and alarm, 

181. 
blind- worm's sting, 146. 
blood, smell of, 179. 
blood -bolter' d, 154. 
blow, ports they, 60. 
bodements, sweet, 151. 
Boece, Hector, 13. 
Bodensted's comments, 

39. 
bolter'd, 154. 
bond, 137, 150. 
bonfire, 103. 
boot, to, 164. 
born of woman, 150, 

182. 
borne in hand, 120. 
borne, strangely, 142. 
Taosom interest, 58. 



both the worlds, 125. 
bought golden opinions, 

86. 
bove wisdom, 141. 
brainsickly, 99. 
break this enterprise, 

87. 
breath, mouth-honor, 

184. 
breech'd with gore, 109. 
breed, blaspheme his, 

167. 
brew'd, tears, 109. 
brinded cat, 145. 
broad words, 143. 
broil, of the, 53. 
bruited, 193. 
bubbles, earth has, .")4. 
Bucknill's comments, 

40. 
buskling = bustling, 17. 
but = than? 196. 
but = unless? 118. 
but he = ? 118. 
buz, peculiar use of, 172. 
by the way, 138. 

O 

cabin'd, cribb'd, etc., 
131. 

Caesar, 118. 

Csesarean operation, 
195. 

Calvary [Golgotha] , 55, 
56. 

cancel arid tear, 127. 

cannons, overcharg'd, 
55. 

caparisons, or compari- 
son's? 57. 

captains, trisyl? 55. 

card, the shipman's, 60. 

cai-eless trifle, 70. 

casing air, 131. 

cast the water, 186. 

castle of Macduff, 155. 

catalogue, in the, 120. 

cause, buckle, etc., 181. 

cause of sorrow, 196. 

cause of state, 117. 

Cawdor, 57, 62, 67, 81. 

censures, just, 188. 

chair, or cheer? 184. 

chalice, 22, 84. 

chambers will be safe, 
187. 

champion me, 119. 

chance, 68, 107. 



chance of goodness, 169. 
charge, imperial, 162. 
charge, mock their, 96, 
charged, heart is sorely, 

179. 
charg'd with blood, 194, 
charmed life, 194. 
chastise, 75. 
chandron, tigers, 147. 
cheeks, ruby of, 137, 
cheer, 131, 184. 
cherubin, heavens, 85. 
chiasmus, 105. 
children, trisyl? 172. 
choke, 53. 
choppy, 61. 
choughs and rooks, 

138. 
chuck, 127. 
churches, against the, 

148. 
clear, 84, 92. 
clearness, require a, 123, 
cleave to mv consent, 

92. 
clept, 120, 121. 
cling thee, 190. 
cloister'd flight, 126. 
close contriver, 140. 
close, stand, 177, 178. 
closed, 121. 

cloudy messenger, 144. 
cock, the second, 104. 
coigne of vantage, 80. 
coil'd, or cooVdf 188. 
Colme's inch, 58. 
CoLme-kill, 113. 
come upon him, 68, 69. 
command upon me, 116. 
combustion, 105. 
commend = commit, 

117. 
commends, 84. 
comparisons, self, 57, 
composition, 58, 
compt, in, 82, 
conference, 120. 
confineless harms, 164. 
confounds, 97. 
confronted him, .57. 
confusion, 105, 141. 
conjure you, 148. 
consent, cleave to, 92. 
consequences, syllab ? 

183. 
constancy hath left, 101. 
contend against, 81. 
content, without, 124. 



218 



INDEX. 



continent, Latin sense? 

165. 
convert, 175. 
convey your pleasures, 

165. 
convince, overcome? 88. 
convinces, 170. 
cooPd, or coil'd, 188. 
copy, nature's, 126. 
corner of the moon, 141. 
corporal, 64, 89. 
corporal agent, 89. 
countenance, horror, 

106. 
counterfeit, deaths, 106. 
couriers of the air, 85. 
cours'd him, 81. 
course, fight the, 192. 
cousin, 54, 67. 
coz = cousin, 156. 
crack of doom, 153. 
cracks, 55. 
Cranmer's hand, 100. 
cribb'd, confin'd, 131. 
crickets cry, 97. 
cries (that which, 74), 

94, 99, 145. 
Cumberland, 72. 
cursed thoughts, 91. 
curtain' d sleep, 94. 

D 

-d, or -ed, omitted, 148. 
dainty of. 111. 
Darmesteter, 75. 
Darnley's murder, 84. 
dead for breath, 76. 
dear causes, 181. 
death, as in a, 88, 89. 
death, or hirtM 99. 
defect, personified? 91. 
degrees, 129. 
De Quincey's com- 
ments, 36, 100. 
deliver = relate? 74. 
demi-wolves, 120. 
denies his person, 138. 
desert, dare to the, 136. 
despair thy charm, 194. 
devil, 66, 103. 
dew, the flower, 182. 
died every day, 168. 
digg'd in the dark, 147. 
direness familiar, 189. 
disbursed, 58. 
discern, or deserve? 162. 
dis-ease, or disseat? 184- 
discovery err, 187. 



displac'd the mirth, 137. 
dispatch, my, 79. 
dispute it like, etc., 174. 
disseat, or dis-ease f 184. 
distance, bloody, 121, 

122. 
distemper'd cause, 181. 
do, I'll, 59. 

do more, or no more? 87. 
do, remains to, 191. 
do we but find, 192. 
doff, dire distresses, 

172. 
dollars, 58. 
-dom, suffix, 161. 
done, if it were, 82, 83. 
doom, crack of, 153. 
doom's image, 106. 
double trust, 84. 
doubt = suspect? 159. 
doubts and fears, 131. 
Dowden, 11, 42, 58. 
downfall, or downfalVn? 

161. 
downy sleep, 106. 
drain, dry as hay, 60. 
dramatic skill, 71, 103. 
dreams, 91, 125. 
dress, 66. 

dress, images from, 182. 
dress'd yourself, 86. 
drink, 92. 

droop and drowse, 127. 
drop profound, 141. 
drown the wind, 85. 
dudgeon, blade and, 93. 
dues of rejoicing, 74. 
Duffe, king, 15, 16, 60, 

HI. 
Duncan, 14, 18, etc. 
Dunsinane, 13, 15, 23, 

26, 151, etc. 
dunnest smoke, 77. 
dusty death, 189, 
duties, 71, 1.54. 
duties and the pledge, 

135. 
dwindle, peak, etc., 60. 

ea, how sounded, 132. 

earls, be, 198. 

early editions of Mac- 
beth, 11. 

earnest of, 66, 67. 

East, the rich, 164. 

easy, for easily? 110, 
194. 



eat, fov ate f 112. 
eaten on, 64. 
eclipse, moon's, 147. 
ecstasy, 125, 171. 
-ed, omitted after -te, -t, 

etc., 143. 
-ed = able? in admired, 

etc., 137. 
Edward, most pious, 

143. 
effects of watchftig, 177. 
egg, young fry of, etc., 

160, 161. 
either thou Macbeth, 

193. 
Elocutionary analysis, 

199, 200, etc. 
else, of all men, 194. 
embrace the fate, 123. 
enemy, dissyl? 121. 
England, gracious, 164. 
English Literature, 

how to study, 227. 
enkindle you unto, 67. 
enow, plural, 103, 159. 
entrance, trisyl? 76. 
entreat an hour, 91. 
epicures, English, 183. 
equivocate to heaven, 

103. 
equivocator, 11, 103. 
ere (in or ere), 171. 
essays, topics for, 215. 
estate o' the world, 191. 
esteem, in thine own, 87. 
eternal jewel, 119. 
evil, the (king's), 170. 
examination papers, 209. 
exasperate, hath so, 143. 
exil'd friends abroad, 

198. 
expedition, 108. 
expense, spend a large, 

197. 
expressive reading, 199. 

F 

face, is as a book, 78. 
fact, in a bad sense? 

142. 
faculties, 84. 
fail, we fail; how read?' 

88. 
fail'd his presence, 143. 
fair is foul, 52, 61. 
falcon, towering, 112. 
famine cling thee, 190. 
fan our people cold, 56. 



INDEX. 



219 



fantastical, meaning? 

62, 68. 
fare thee well, 168. 
farmer that hanged, 

102. 
farrow, eaten her nine, 

149. 
favor, sense of? 69, 79. 
fear = fear for ? etc. , 

74, 79. 
fears, sense of? 68, 100. 
fee grief, 173. 
feed = mere feeding? 

132. 
fell cruelty, 159. 
fell of hair, 189. 
feverous, 105. 
field, into the, 177. 
Fife, 14, 56, 178, etc, 
fll'd my mind, 118. 
file, the valued, 121. 
fillet of a fenny snake, 

146. 
filthy air, 52. 
firstlings of my heart, 

etc., 155. 
fitful fever, 125. 
fits o' the season, 157. 
Flathe's comments, 37, 

90. 
flaws and starts, 133. 
Fleance, 22, 117, 129, etc. 
Fletcher's comments, 

84. 
flowers, in caps, 171. 
flighty purpose, 155. 
flout the sky, 56. 
foisons, Scotland hath, 

166. 
fool, for weeping? 157. 
fools of the other 

senses, 93. 
foot of motion, 109. 
for = as for ? 156. 
for = on account of? 

122. 
for-, prefix, sense of? 

168, 169. 
for = notwithstanding? 

158. 
for that = because? 172. 
forbid, a man, 60. 
forced with those, 188. 
forge quarrels, 166. 
Forres, 15, 52, etc. 
forsworn. 168. 
foul and fair, 52, 61. 
frailties, naked, 110. 



frame of things, 125. 
franchis'd, bosom, 92. 
free = freely? 91. 
free = freely bestowed? 

143. 
free = remove ? 143. 
free hearts, 69. 
French blunderingly 

Englished, 60. 
friend, to, 161. 
frieze, jutty, etc., 80. 
from = apart from ? 121, 

123, 132. 
from = because of ? 143. 
fry. young, 160, 161. 
full so, 73. 
fume, 88. 
function is smother' d, 

68. 
furbish' d arms, 55. 
fury, valiant, 181. 

G 

gallowglasses, 53, 193. 
Genius is rebuk'd, 118. 
gentle my lord, 125. 
gentle senses, 79. 
gentle weal, 134. 
gently rerlder'd, 193. 
germens, nature's. 149. 
Gervinus's comments, 

37. 
get kings, 63. 
ghost, 132, 133, 134, 135, 

153, 154. 
gild, with blood gilt, 

100. 
gin, a trap, 158. 
gin to be aweary, 191 . 
given, advantage, 187. 
gives out = shows, 172. 
Glamis, 62, 63, etc. 
glass which shows, 153. 
goes the night, 90. 
golden blood, 108. 
go off, some must, 196. 
go to, you have known, 

178. 
go with me, 127. 
God be with you, 117. 
God 'ield us, 81. 
God's soldier, 196. 
golden round, 75. 
Golgotha, another, 55. 
good = brave? 161. 
good-bye, originof ? 117. 
goodness, chance of, 169. 



goose, roast your, 103. 
goose look, 183. 
Gorgon, a new, 106. 
gospell'd, so, 120. 
gouts of blood, 93. 
grace of Grace, 198. 
grace, present, 62. 
grac'd person, 132. 
gracious, 164. 
gracious Duncan, 119. 
gracious my lord, 190. 
grapples, to the heart, 

121. 
grave and prosperous, 

116. 
Graymalkin, 51, 52, 145. 
great bidding, 138. 
green one red, 101. 
Grimm's law, 173. 
grooms, 96, 100. 
grove, a moving, 190. 
grow, if I, 72. 
guardian spirits, 118. 
gulf, of shark, 147. 

H 

hail, brave friend, 53. 
hair, 153, 197. 
half world, 93. 
hangman's hands, 98. 
happier, much, 63. 
happy, 63, 67. 
harbinger, 73i 192. 
hard use, wants, 139. 
harness on our back, 

191. 
harp'd my fear, 1.50. 
Harpier cries, 145. 
harpy, m Virgil, etc., 

145. 
haste looks through, 56. 
hath = possesses:? 121. 
hautboys, 79, 152, 153. 
have, or leave'! 86, 87. 
having, noble, 62. 
Hazlitt's comments. 30. 
he within, blood? 130. 
heart knock, 68. 
heath, 51, 63. 
heaven, their candles, 

90. 
heavy summons, 91. 
Hebrides, 53. 
Hector Boece, 13. 
Hecate, 94, 139, 147. 
Hecate's offerings, 94. 
hedge-pig whined, 145. 
hell is murky, 178. 



220 



INDEX. 



Heraud's comments, 38. 
hereafter, the all-hail, 

7S. 
here-approach, 169. 
hermits, rest your, 81. 
hie thee hither, 75. 
him, for he? 195. 
his = its? 83. 
his jewels and this, etc., 

166. 
hiss the speaker, 172. 
hit your thoughts, 141. 
hold ! hold ! 77. 
hold rumor, 157. 
Holinshed, 12, 15, 111, 

etc. 
hold(=mtMold8?) the 

due, 143. 
help, 81. 

home (= fully?), trust- 
ed, 67. 
homely man's advice, 

1.59. 
Homer, traces of? 186. 
Homer's Iliad, 135. 
honors come, 68, 69. 
honors deep, 81. 
hoodwink, the time, 166. 
hope drunk, 86. 
horses, 18. 

horses, monosyl. ? 112. 
horses, on the stage, 128. 
hose, French, 103. 
hour to serve, 91, 92. 
housekeeper, dog, 121. 
how say'st thou, 138. 
howlet's wing, 146. 
how to study Eng. Lit., 

227. 
Hudson's comments, 35, 

44. 
hum! subjective? 173. 
humane statute, 134. 
Hunter's comments, 33. 
hurly-burly, 51. 
husbandry in heaven, 

90. 
Hyrcan tiger, 136. 



Icolmkill, 113. 
'ield = yield? 81. 
ignorant present, 78. 
I'll none of it, 186. 
111-compos'd, 166. 
illness = wickedness? 

74. 
imagery, stage? 77. 



images of death, 65. 
imitative (onomatopo- 

etic) words, 127. 
impress, the air, 194. 
impress the forest, 151. 
in command, 181. 
in his life, 121. 
in time, come, 102. 
incarnadine, 101. 
Inch, St. Colme's, 58. 
Inch colony, 58. 
informs thus, 93. 
ingredience, 84. 
ingredients, cauldron's, 

146, 147. 
inhabit, trembling I, 

136. 
initiate fear, 139. 
insane root, 64. 
instruments, put on 

their, 176. 
intemperance, 165. 
interest, bosom, 58. 
interim, 69. 
intermission, 175. 
interpolations, 12. 
intrenchant air, 194. 
Inverness, 14, 72, etc. 
-10)1, dissyl. ? 54. 
lona = Colme-kill? 113, 

114. 
is, for arel 137. 
it will have blood, 137. 



James I, 153. 

Jameson, Mrs., com- 
ments, 30, 31, 88. 

Johnson, Dr., com- 
ments, 27, 170. 

jump the life to come, 
83 

jutty, 80. 

K 

keep peace between, 
etc., 76. 

Kemble's comments, 28. 

kerns and gallowglass- 
es, 53, 55, 193. 

key-note of Macbeth, 51. 

kill, in Colme-kill, 113, 
114. 

-kin, suffix, 52. 

kind'st leisure, 92. 

king-becoming graces, 
167. 

knell that summons, 96. 

knoU'd, knell is, 197. 



knocking, at the gate, 

100, 101, 102, 103. 
know, to = if, etc., 102. 
knowings, former, 111. 



lac'd with his golden 

blood, 108. 
lack is nothing, etc., 

175. 
lack you, 135. 
Lady Macbeth, 12, 14, 

30, 80, 96, 97, 109, 124, 

etc. 
Lady Macduff, 156, 157, 

etc. 
Lamartine's comments, 

39. 
lamp, travelling. 111. 
lapp'd in proof, 57. 
large in mirth, 130. 
latch them, 173. 
lated traveller, spurs, 

128. 
Latin diction stately, 

80, 101. 
lavish spirit, 57. 
lease of nature, 152. 
leasings = falsehoods, 

25. 
leave = leave off? 126. 
leaving, the, 70. 
leavy screens, 191. 
Leo's comments, 40 
-less, suffix, 165. 
lesser than Macbeth, 63. 
-let, dimin. suffix, 80. 
letters, 78. 
liege = lord ? 70. 
life 0' the building, 106. 
life to come, jump, 83. 
light endings, 11. 
lighted, shaft. 111. 
like = likely? 113. 
lily-liver'd boy, 183. 
limoeck, 88. 
lime = bird-lime? 158. 
limited service, 104. 
line the rebel, 66. 
linen cheeks, 184. 
list, into the, 119. 
listening their fear, 98. 
liver of blaspheming, 

etc., 147. 
lives, for livel 126. 
lodg'd, 148, 149. 
lodg'd together, 98. 
loon, cream-fac'd, 183. 



INDEX. 



221 



love that follows, 80. 

loves, plural, 122, 198. 

loves for his own ends, 
140. 

Lowell's comments, 40. 

Lucrece, Rape of, quot- 
ed, 77, 95. 

luxurious, 165. 

M 

Macbeth' s name, 51, 192. 
Macbeth's history, 14, 

18, etc. 
Macdonald, 19, 53. 
Macduff, 12, 14, 23, 155, 

etc. 
mad to say it, 75. 
Maginn, Dr. Wm., 186, 
magot pies, 138. 
makes, old plural? 171. 
make's, 109. 
Malcolm, 14, 22, 26, 72, 

161, etc. 
malkin, in Graymalkin, 

51, 52. 
man, become a, 87. 
manliness, 87, 137. 
manly, time goes, 175. 
manly readiness, 110. 
mansionry, 80. 
Mark Antony, 118. 
marry, he was dead, 142. 
marshall'st me, 93. 
martlet, 80. 
mated, mind, 180. 
maw and gulf, 147, 
maws of kites, 134. 
may = can ? 139. 
may = must? 122. 
me-, ethical dative? 144. 
means, 171, 180. 
measure, drink a, 130. 
meat, pronunciation? 

132. 
medicine of the sickly, 

etc., 182. 
meek, adverb? 84. 
meeting, pun? 132. 
memorize, 55. 
metaphors, 105, 108. 
mere = absolute ? 170. 
mere own, 166. 
metaphysical aid, 75. 
mettle, 89. 

mew'd, cat hath, 145. 
Mezieres' comments, 36. 
Middleton's Witch, 148, 

208. 



mile, for miles? 190. 
milk of concord, 167, 
milk of human kindness, 

74. 
mine^in my power? 71. 
minion, 54, 112. 
minutely revolts, 181, 
mischief, nature's, 77. 
missives from the king, 

74. 
mixed metaphor, 105. 
mock the time, 89. 
mock with snores, 96. 
mockery, hence ! 136. 
modern ecstasy, 171. 
moe horses, 185. 
mongrels, 120. 
monstrous, trisyl. ? 142. 
more and less have, 187, 
mortal murders, 134. 
mortal sword, 161. 
mortal thoughts, 76. 
mortality, 107. 
mortified man, 181. 
motives, precious, 163. 
mousing owl, 112. 
move, each way and, 

157. 
moving grove, 190. 
my lord, quasi com- 
pound, 125, 190. 
multitudinous seas, 100. 
mummy, witch's, 147. 
munch'd, 59. 
murder' d sleep, 99. 
murders, or gashes? 134, 

135. 
murky, hell is, 178. 
muse at me, 135. 
must=was destined to? 

174. 
must breed and haunt, 

80. 

N 

naked frailties, 110. 
napkins enough, 102, 

103. 
nature, intemperance 

in, 165. 
nature = life? 97, 131. 
nature, wild in, 112. 
nature's copy, 126. 
naught that I am, 174, 

175. 
nave, from the, 54. 
near = nearer? 110. 
near'st of life, 122. 



needs not our mistrust, 

128. 
Neptune's ocean wash, 

etc., 100. 
newest state, 52. 
new-hatch'd, 105. 
nice and yet, etc., 171. 
niggard, of speech, 172. 
nightgown, 101, 177, 179. 
no children, he has, 174. 
noise is this, etc., 152. 
non-pareil, the, 130. 
nor = and? 72. 
Norway himself, 56, 57. 
Nor ways' King, .58. 
Norweyan, 55, 65. 
note, of dreadful, 127. 
note of expectation, 128. 
nothing, adverb? 65,181. 
notion craz'd, 120. 
nought, say thou, 150. 

O 

oblivious, antidote, 185.. 

obscure bird, 105. 

-ock, suffix, 52. 

odds with morning, 138.^ 

o'erfraught heart, 174. 

o'ertook, never is, 155. 

of, partitive i 64. 

offices, 91. 

old turning, 102. 

on (in eaten on), 64. 

once =ever? 171, 189. 

one, rhyme with Scone, 
198. 

one-half world, 93. 

on 't = of it, 121, 123. 

onomatopoeia, 51, 127. 

open'd, 164, 

or, or are? 70. 

or (in or ere) = before? 
171. 

other, I have all the, 59. 

other, learn no, 187. 

other devil's name, 103.. 

our high-plac'd Mac- 
beth, 152. 

our, dissyl. ? 82. 

ourself, royal usage? 
117, 129, 131. 

ourselves=each other? 
131. 

out=under arms? 172. 

outrun the pauser, 108. 

overcome us like, etc., 
137. 

over-red thy fear, 183. 



222 



INDEX, 



owe, meanings? 63, 70, 

188. 
owl that shriek'd, 96, 97. 

P 

Paddock calls, 52. 
painted upon a pole, 195. 
pale-hearted fear, 151. 
pall thee in, etc., 77. 
palter, in a double sense, 

195. 
parallel a fellow, etc., 

105. 
parley, calls to, 106. 
parricide, cruel, 117. 
parted well, 197. 
pass'd in probation, 120. 
passion, 133. 
patch = clown? 183. 
pause, to fill metre ? 53. 
pauser, reason, 108. 
pays, plural^ 71. 
peace, well at, 172. 
peace, keep, 76, 77. 
peace, or place? 125. 
peace, vessel of my, 119. 
peak and pine, 60. 
pearl, kingdom's, 197. 
peep through, 77. 
pendent bed, 80. 
perfect, I am, 159. 
perfect spy, 122. 
perfectest report, 73. 
perseverance, accent? 

167. 
perturbation in nature, 

177. 
pester'd senses, 182. 
Petri's comments, 39. 
physics pain, 104. 
pilot's thumb, 61. 
place, pride of, 112, 
play the fool, 194. 
player, a poor, 189. 
please it your highness, 

132. 
pleasure, attend our, 

117. 
pleonasm? 196. 
plural inflection, 107, 

no. 

plural, or singular? 69, 

71, 126. 
plural, of sense? 178. 
plural of revenge, 181. 
Plutarch, 118. 
point, already at a, 169. 
pole, upon a, 195. 



Polydorus, 138. 
poorly, lost so, 101. 
portable, these are, 166. 
porter's soliloquy, 102. 
possess,with sound, 173. 
possets, 96, 97. 
posters of the sea, 61. 
power=army? 172, 180. 
Prayer-book, quoted, 

78. 
predominance, rights, 

112, 120. 
predominant, patience, 

120. 
present, this, 78. 
present death, 58. 
present him, 126. 
presently, 170. 
pretence, 110. 
pretend, could they, 112. 
preys, 127. 
pricking of my thumbs, 

148. 
pride of place, 112. 
primrose way, 103. 
prithee, or prythee, 87. 
probation, pass'd in, 120 
procreant cradle, 80. 
producing forth, 198 
professes itself, 193. 
profound drop, 141. 
prolepsis, 64, 69, 76, 79, 

80, 134, 139. 
prologues, 67. 
proof, lapp'd in, 57. 
proper stuff I 133. 
prophesying, 105. 
proportion, 71. 
prospect of belief, 63. 
prosperous, advice, 116. 
prosperous (Cawdor) , 

63. 
protest their first, etc., 

181. 
prowess, monosyl. ? 196. 
pull, pall? pale? 190. 
pull in resolution, 190. 
pun? 73, 100, 132, 185, 

197. 
purge, our country's, 

182, 186. 
purveyor, to be his, 81. 
push us from our stools, 

135. 
push will cheer, 184. 
put on instruments, 176. 
put on, soldiership, 188. 
Pvthagoras, 61 . 



quarrel, warranted, 169 
quarry, of deer, 173. 
quarry or quarrel, 53. 
quell out great, 89. 
question, man may, 61. 
question this, etc., 110. 
quoth I, 59. 

R 

rain, let it come, 129. 
rancors, put in, 119. 
rapt withal, 62. 
rather, the, 88, 
ravell'd sleave, 99, 
raven is hoarse, 76, 
ravin up, 113. 
ravin'd, shark, 147. 
ravishing sides, 94, 95. 
rawness, in that, 163, 
readiness, manly, 110. 
ready = dressed? 110. 
rebellious dead rise, 151. 
rebellious, point or arm ? 

57. 
rebellion's head, 151, 

152. 
receipt of reason, 88. 
receiv'd, be, 89. 
recoil, 162, 182. 
recorded time, 189. 
red blood courageous? 

101, 183, 184. 
reflection, 54. 
register' d, pains are, 69. 
relation, too nice, 171. 
relations understood, 

138. 
relish of, 167. 
remedy, without all, 

124. 
remember the porter, 

103. 
remembrance, quadri- 

syl, ? 126. 
remembrancer, sweet, 

132. 
remorse = pity? 76. 
render'd, castle 's, 193. 
rent for rend, 171. 
repose, in painting, 82. 
require her welcome, 

130. 
resolve yourselves, 123, 
rest is labor, 72. 
rest your hermits, 81. 
retire we to, etc., 101. 



INDEX. 



223 



return your own, 82. 
returns again, 124. 
rhinoceros, arm'd, 136. 
rhubarb, senna, etc. , 

186. 
rich East to boot, 164. 
roast your goose, 103. 
Roman fool, 194. 
ronyon, rump-fed, 59. 
roof'd, honor, 132. 
rooky wood, 127. 
Ross, 27, 64, etc. 
round and top, 151. 
round, antic, 154. 
rouse (themselves), 

127; see 189. 
rubs nor botches, 123. 
ruby of your cheeks, 

137. 
rump-fed ronyon, 59. 
runs, plural? 69. 
Russian bear, 136. 

S 

Safe, Banquo's, 131. 
safe toward, 71. 
sag with doubt, 183. 
Saint Colme's Inch, 58. 
Saint Columb, 58, 113. 
Samuel Johnson, 27, 

170. 
saucy doubts, 113. 
say to the king, 53. 
scann'd, 139. 
scanning, 82, 108, 117, 

121, 159, 160, 168, 177, 

183. 
scap'd, Fleance is, 131. 
scape, 175. 

sceptres, treble, 153, 154 
Schlegel's comments, 

29. 
school, or shoaU 83. 
Scone, 113, 198. 
score, paid his, 197. 
scotch' d the snake, 124. 
Scott's account of Mac- 
beth, 14. ■ 
screw your courage, 88. 
sear mine eyeballs, 153. 
sear, the yellow leaf, 

184. 
season of all natures, 

139. 
seated heart knock, 68. 
second cock, 104. 
secret' st man, 138. 



security is mortals', 

etc., 141. 
see not the wound, 77. 
seeds of Banquo, 119. 
seeds of time, 63. 
se'ennights, weary, 60. 
seeling night, 127. 
seem to have thee, 75. 
seems to speak, 56. 
self and violent hands, 

198. 
self-, strange and, 139. 
senna, rhubarb, etc., 

186. 
sennet, 115. 
sense are shut, 178. 
senses, etc., monosyl. 1 

79, 80. 
sensible to feeling, 93. 
sergeant, this is the, 52. 
serpent, be the, 79. 
serve, hour to, 91, 92. 
set for, poor birds, 158. 
setting down before, 

187. 
sewer, officer? 82. 
Seyton, I say, 184. 
shadow the numbers, 

187. 
shag-ear'd, or shag- 

hair'dl 160. 
shall, for will? 133. 
shard-borne beetle, 126. 
shift away. 111. 
shine, speeches, 115. 
shine through you, 122. 
shipman's caid, 60. 
shoal (or schoolf) of 

time, 83. 
shook hands, ne'er, 54. 
shoughs, dogs, 120. 
should, sense of? 56, 62, 

124, 164, 189, 190. 
show and gaze o' the 

time, 195. 
show = appear? 62, 191. 
show his eyes, 153. 
showed like, 53. 
shut up in, 91. 
sicken, destruction, 149. 
Siddons, Mrs., 31, 32,33. 
sides, or strides? Tar- 

quin's, 94, 95. 
sightless=invisible? 77, 

85. 
sights, no more, 155. 
silence in incantations, 

150. 



silenc'd with that, 64, 65 

silver skin lac'd, 108. 

Sinel's death, 63. 

single state of man, 68. 

singular, for plural, 107, 
110. 

sir, significant? 138. 

sirrah, 117, 158. 

Siward, 14, 26, 27, 169, 
180, 192. 

skipping kerns, 55. 

skirr the country, 185. 

slab, 147. 

sleave of care, 99. 

sleek o'er, 125, 126. 

sleep no more, 18, 99. 

sleep-walking, 177, 178. 

sleights, magic, 141. 

slipp'd the hour, 104. 

sliver' d in the moon's, 
147. 

slope their heads, 149. 

slumbery, agitation, 177 

smack (of honor, 56), 
165. 

smell of the blood, 179. 

so, for asf 56. 

so bold to call, 104. 

sold, 132. 

soldier, God's, 196. 

sole name, 162. 

solemn supper, 115. 

soliciting, supernatur- 
al, 67. 

solicits heaven, 170. 

-some, as in wholesome, 
167. 

something, adverb? 123. 

sometime, 80, 81, 160. 

son of mine succeeding, 
118. 

song, witch, 148, 208. 

sooth, if I say, 55. 

soothfastness = truth- 
fulness, 25. 

sorely charged, heart, 
179. 

sorriest fancies, 124. 

sorry sight, 98. 

sovereign flower, 182. 

speaks, my heart, 130. 

speculation, no, 135. 

speed, had the, 75, 76. 

spoke, for spoken, 70. 

spoken, 't is, 170. 

spongy officers, 89. 

sprights, cheer we, etc., 
1.54. 



224 



INDEX. 



spring, whence, 55. 

sprites (walk like, 106) , 
141. 

spy, the perfect, 122. 

staff, give me my, 186. 

stamp, golden. 170. 

stanchless avarice, 166. 

start eyes, 153. 

start me, cannot, 189. 

state, cause of, 117. 

state of honor, 159. 

state, hostess keeps, 
129. 

station, unshrinking, 
196. 

staves, bear their, 193. 

stay his cure, 170. 

stay upon, leisure, 69. 

Steevens' comments, 28. 

steps, which way, 95. 

sticking place, 88. 

still = constantly? 82, 
116, 195. 

still=yet? quietly? 137. 

stir, without my, 68. 

stone of Scone, 113. 

stones, known to move, 
137. 

stool, look on, 134. 

stools, push from, 135. 

straight, call upon, 126. 

strange garments, 69. 

strange matters, 78. 

strange, make me, 137. 

strangles the lamp, 111. 

strides (or sides?), Tar- 
quin's, 94. 

striding the blast, 85. 

strike beside us, 193. 

studied in his death, 70. 

Study of Eng. Lit., 227. 

stuff, perilous, 185. 

stuff, O proper ! 133. 

stuff'd bosom, 185. 

suborn' d, they were, 
112. 

success, 67, 83. 

such I account, 86. 

suffering country un- 
der, 144. 

sudden, 165. 

suggestion, yield to, 67. 

suggestions for expres- 
sive reading, 199 . 

summer-seeming, 166. 

sundry ways, 164. 

supper, 116, 117. 

surcease, with his, 83. 



surmise, smother' d in, 

68. 
surveying vantage, 55. 
sway by, mind I, 183. 
swears and lies, 1.59. 
sweaten, grease that's, 

149. 
sweeter welcome, 117. 
swelter'd venom, 146. 
Sweno, 19, 20, 58, etc. 
swine, killing, 58. 
sworn as you have, 87. 
syllable of dolor, 161. 
syllable of time, 189. 



tail, rat without a, 59. 

taint with fear, 182. 

take my milk for gall, 
77. 

taking-off, of his, 84. 

tale, thick as, 65. 

Tarquin's ravishing, 
etc., 94, 95. 

tears, hiding joys, 72. 

tears, foolish J 157. 

teems a new one, 172. 

temperance, king- be- 
coming, 167. 

tend on mortal thoughts 
76. 

tending, give him, 76. 

terrible numbers, 57. 

thalers (origin of dol- 
lars'!) 58. 

thane, 14, 27, 56, 67, 198. 

that, sense of? 57, 62, 85, 
87, 97, 161, 167, 187. 

the better, 116. 

the other, falls on, 85. 

the, possessive? 87. 

the which, 116. 

theatrical imagery, 77, 
111, 189, 194, etc. 

thee (for thou?) 75. 

thee without than, 130. 

their candles, 90. 

Theocritus quoted, 16. 

thick night, 77. 

thickens, light, 127. 

think, to, = in think- 
ing? 99. 

think withal, 164. 

thirst, to him we, 135. 

this my hand, 100. 

thou, and tyott, 185. 

thought, 99, 133. 

thought, always, 123. 



thralls of sleep, 142. 
threat, whiles I, 95. 
three ears, had ] , 150. 
three mile, this, 190. 
thrice, in magic, 61, 145, 
thumb, pilot's, 61. 
thumbs, pricking of, 

148. 
tidings, 75, 172. 
tiger, a bark? 59. 
tiger, Hyrcan, 136. 
time and the hour, 69. 
time, come in, 102. 
time, at more, 69. 
time = people? 78, 89. 
time, show of the, 195. 
time, or tune, 175. 
time, woful, 105. 
timely, 104, 128. 
title is afear'd, 163, 164. 
titles, leave his, 156. 
to = as? 161. 
to be = in being? 87. 
to do = to be done? 191, 

193, 198. 
to know my deed, 102. 
to fright = in frighting, 

159. 
to, omitted before infin. ? 

132. 
to the woful time, 105. 
toad that under, etc.,, 

146. 
took off her life, 198. 
tongue nor heart, 105. 
top Macbeth, 165. 
top of Sovereignty, 151. 
top-full, of cruelty, 76. 
torture of the mind, 125. 
touch him further, 125. 
touch, the natural, 156. 
touch' d you, 162. 
touching, 'for the evil,* 

170. 
towards, monosyl. ? 83. 
towering, falcon, 112. 
trace him, 155. 
tragedy's pall, 77. 
trains, sense of? 168. 
traitors, fears make us, 

156, 159. 
trammel up, SB. 
transpose, thoughts 

cannot, 162. 
transposition, 144, 184, 

197, 198. 
travelling lamp, stran- 
gles, 111. 



INDEX, 



225 



treatise, dismal, 189. 

treble sceptres, 153, 154. 

trees, known to speak, 
137, 138. 

trembling I inhabit, 136. 

trenched gashes, 131. 

trifled former know- 
ings, 111. 

trust, an absolute, 71. 

tugg'd with fortune, 
121. 

twain, dark hour or, 116. 

twofold balls and treble 
sceptres, 153, 154. 

tyranny, intemperance, 
165. 

tyrant's feast, 143. 

U 

Ulrici's comments, 35. 
Ulysses, 59, 60. 
unattended, left you, 

104. 
uncle Siward, 14, 180. 
undeeded sword, 193. 
understood relations, 

138. 
under writ, "Here" etc., 

195. 
unfix my hair, 68. 
unmannerly breech'd, 

109. 
unrough youths, 181. 
unsafe the while, 126. 
unspeak detraction, 168. 
untie the winds, 148. 
untitled tyrant, 167. 
upon a thought, 133. 
upon his aid, 143. 
upon the foot of motion, 

109. 
uproar the universal, 

etc , 167. 
using those thoughts, 

124. 
utterance, to the, 119. 

V 

V^alhalla, 196. 

valued file, 121. 

vantage, surveying, 55. 

vaporous drop pro- 
found, 141. 

vault to brag of, 107. 

vaulting ambition, 85. 

venom, swelter 'd, 146. 

verbal play, 73, 100, 132, 
185, 197. 



verity, king-becoming, 

167. 
vessel of my peace, 119. 
Virgil, 60. 
visards to our hearts, 

126. 
vouch'd, feast, 132. 

W 

want the thought, 142. 
wanton, joys, 72. 
warder of the brain, 88. 
warrant in that theft, 

111. 
warranted quarrel, 169. 
wassail so convince, 88. 
watch = watch-cry ? 94. 
watchers, to be, 101. 
watching, do the effects 

of, 177, 
water-rugs, dogs, 120. 
wax image, 15, 16, 60. 
way and move, 157. 
way (or May'l) of life, 

184. 
we, royal usage? 92. 
weak endings of verses, 

11. 
weal, purg'd the gentle, 

134. 
weal, the sickly, 182. 
weigh' d, with other, 166 
weird sisters, 12, 16, 20, 

61, 139, 154. 
welcome, 78, 117. 
well, 172, 179. 
Weiss' s comments, 41. 
western isles, 53. 
what, peculiar use of? 

138, 164, 192. 
Whately's comments, 

28. 
whereabout, prate of 

my, 95. 
whether, monosyl. ? 66. 
which, and who, 179. 
which=ancZ /le? or who^ 

54. 
which, the, 116. 
while, unsafe the, 126. 
while=until? 117. 
whiles, 74, 95, 127, 194. 
whispers the o'er- 

f raught heart, 174. 
white, sign of fear? 101, 

183, 184. 
White's comments, 44. 



who, ask'd for, 171. 

who = any one? 144. 

who, for whomi 122, 132. 

who's there, 97. 

wholesome days again, 
167. 

will become the serv- 
ant, 91. 

wine and wassail, 88. 

wind, given or sold? 59, 
60; untied, 148. 

wink at the hand, eye, 
73. 

witch, Middleton's, 208. 

witch's mummy, 147. 

witch weather, 61. 

witches, 15, 16, etc. 

wish them to, 197. 

with^by ( 118, 1.58. 

\v^ith, supp'd full with, 
189. 

withal, 62, 75, 91. 

wither' d murder, 94. 

without =: outside ? 117. 

without remedy, 124. 

witness, this filthy, 99. 

witness'd the rather, 
172. 

wolf whose howl, 94. 

wonders and his praises, 
64, 65. 

word, such a, 189. 

words, gives, 95. 

worms, live with, 158. 

worm, that 's fled, 131. 

worst rank of manhood, 
121. 

would, 74, 86, 118, 162, 
173, 198. 

wrack? (or wreck), 60. 

wreck, in shipwreck- 
ing, etc., 54, 56. 

wren, most diminutive, 
156. 

wrought, brain was, 69. 

wrought, should free 
have, 91. 

Y 

yellow leaf, 184. 

yesterdays have light- 
ed, 189. 

yesty waves conformed, 
148. 

yew, sliver' d in the, 
etc. 147. 

yield '['ield] us, 81. 

young Siward slain, 193. 



HOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



HOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITERATURE. 

\_From George H. Martin, Agent of the Mass, Board of Education.'] 

What is wanted is a carefully graded course, which, beginning 
with the poetry of action, should lead the student step by step to 
the sentimental and the reflective, all in their simplest forms, thence 
through the more elaborate narrative to the epic and the dramatic. 
The aim here is not to teach authors or works, but poetry ; and the 
works are selected for their value as illustrations , without reference 
to their authors. A parallel course in the study of prose should be 
pursued with the same end. Then, having learned what poetry is 
and what prose is, what they contain and how to find their contents, 
the pupils would be prepared to take up the study of Individual 
authors. Having studied the authors, the final step would be to 
study the history of the literature, in which the relation of the 
authors to each other and to their times would appear. This would 
place the study of literature on a scientific basis, — first elementary 
Ideas, then individual wholes, then relations and classifications. 

\_From an address by L. R. Williston, A.M., Supervisor of Public 

Schools, Boston.] 

How shall the teacher bring his pupils best to see and feel the 
thoughts of his author as he saw and felt them ? 

First, Read the work carefully with them. Let the teacher read, 
and question as he reads. Let him often ask for paraphrases, and 
draw out in every way the thought of his class, making sure that 
all is clear. Let every impression have a corresponding expression, 
which shall re-act, and deepen the impression. 

Second, When a part of the work, an act, book, or canto, has 
been carefully read, assign a theme for a written essay. Let the 
class tell what the poet has attejnpted, how he has succeeded, what 
are the impressions made by the characters, scenes, and descriptions. 

Let the teacher himself write upon the themes assigned to his 
class, and thus give them a model of what he wishes them to do. 

Third, When the book or play has been carefully read and studied 
in this way in all its parts, let it be re-read in a larger and freer way 
than before. Let the pupils read, and the teacher watch to see if 
the thought is clearly apprehended by the pupil. Let the fine pas- 
sages be read again and again by different members of the class, 
and their rendering be criticised bv class and teacher. If the work 



228 H:0W to 8TUEY ENGLISH LITERATURE. 

read be a play, let the parts be taken by different members of the 
class. Let all the parts of the work now be studied in their rela- 
tion to each other and to the whole. Essays now should be written 
upon subjects suggested by this more comprehensive study of the 
work, — a comparison of characters, noteworthy scenes and their 
bearing upon the whole, the style of the author, and his skill in 
description, dramatic presentation, or invention. 

If it is objected that it is impossible for a teacher with a large 
class to revise and correct such a mass of written work, I answer 
that it is not to be expected that all the written work of a class 
should be read and carefully corrected by the teacher. Let him criti- 
cise, or rather call upon his class to do so, what is noticeably wrong^ 
in the essays as they are read. In these exercises, let the attention 
be directed chiefly to the thought. Let thought govern and direct 
expression. From time to time, according to the number of his 
class and the teacher's ability, let him assign essays to be carefully 
written and handed in for his own careful reading and criticism. 
But let there be an abundance of free and rapid writing, that compo- 
sition, that is, thought put into writing, may become easy and natural. 
The object of the writing is not to teach the correct use of English, 
so much as to make clear thinkers and to fix and deepen impressions. 

Fourth, With the careful reading and study of some book in 
school, I think it important that there should go the reading of 
some other book out of school. Flowers are not all to be picked 
and analyzed, but are to be enjoyed as they are seen by "him who 
runs." " Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, 
some few to be chewed and digested." Let the pupil have his exer- 
cise in merely " tasting" books, with enjoyment as the chief end. 
Let the teacher be his guide, and merely ask him to report what he 
finds. In other words, let him read, as we all read when we read 
for pleasure, — with his mind at ease and open to every charm that 
genius can present. Let the teacher make the book the subject of 
conversation with his class, and draw their attention by his questions 
to the chief points which make it noteworthy. 

To what extent shall the memory be called upon in the study of 
English literature? Not, I think, to commit long passages, whole 
books, and cantos of poems. Let the pupil absorb as much as pos- 
sible in frequent reading and in study. Now and then, let a few 
striking lines, that have been learned by heart rather than committed 
to memory, be recited. Do not make a disagreeable task of any 
such exercise. For, that our pupils may receive the highest and 
best influence from this study of English literature, it is essential 
that they love it, and retain only pleasant memories of the hours 
spent at school in the society of its best authors. 

[From J. M. Buchan, Inspector of High Schools, Ontario, Canada; 
quoted in BlaisdelVs " Outline Studies in English Classics," a 
work that should be in the hands of every teacher of our literature.'^ 

With all classes of pupils alike, the main thing to be aimed at 
by the teacher is to lead them clearly and fully to understand the 



HOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITdlRATUEE. 229 

meaning of the author they are reading, and to appreciate the 
beauty, the nobleness, the justness, or the sublimity of his thoughts 
and language. Parsing, the analysis of sentences, the derivation 
of words, the explanation of allusions, the scansion of verse, the 
pointing-out of figures of speech, the hundred and one minor 
matters on which the teacher may easily dissipate the attention of 
the pupil, should be strictly subordinated to this great aim. ... It 
is essential that the mind of the reader should be put en rapport 
with that of the writer. There is something in the influence of a 
great soul upon another, which defies analysis. No analysis of a 
poem, however subtle, can produce the same eflect upon the mind 
and heart as the reading of the poem itself. 

Though the works of Shakespeare and Milton and our other great 
writers were not intended by their authors to serve as text-books 
for future generations, yet it is unquestionably the case that a large 
amount of information may be imparted, and a very valuable train- 
ing given, if we deal with them as we deal with Homer and Horace 
in our best schools. Parsing, grammatical analysis, the derivation 
of words, prosody, composition, the history of the language, and 
to a certain extent the history of the race, may be both more pleas- 
antly and more profitably taught in this than in any other way. It 
is advisable for these reasons, also, that the study of these subjects 
should be conjoined with that of the English literature. Not only 
may time be thus economized, but the difficulty of fixing the attention 
of flighty and inappreciative pupils may more easily be overcome. 

{^From F. Q. Fleay's " Guide to Chaucer and Spenser."] 

No doubtful critical point should ever be set before the student 
as ascertained. One great advantage of these studies is the acquire- 
ment of a power of forming a judgment in cases of conflicting 
evidence. Give the student the evidence; state your own opinion, 
if you like, but let him judge for himself. 

No extracts or incomplete works should be used. The capability 
of appreciating a whole work, as a whole, is one of the principal 
aims in aesthetic culture. 

It is better to read thoroughly one simple play or poem than to 
know details about all the dramatists and poets. The former trains 
the brain to judge of other plays or poems; the latter only loads 
the memory with details that can at any time be found, when 
required, in books of reference. 

For these studies to completely succeed, they must be as thorough 
as our classical studies used to be. No difficult point in syntax, 
prosody, accidence, or pronunciation ; no variation in manners or 
customs; no historical or geographical allusion, — must be passed 
over without explanation. This training in exactness will not inter- 
fere with, but aid, the higher aims of literary training. 

[From Rev. Henry N. Hudson, Shakespearian Editor.'] 

I have never had and never will have anything but simple exer- 
cises ; the pupils reading the author under the teacher's direction. 



230 SOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITERATURE. 

correction, and explanation; the teacher not even requiring, though 
usually advising, them to read over the matter in advance. Thus it 
is a joint communing of teacher and pupils with the author for the 
time being; just that, and nothing more. Nor, assuredly, can such 
communion, in so far as it is genial and free, be without substantial 
and lasting good, — far better, indeed, than any possible cramming 
of mouth and memory for recitation. The one thing needful here 
is, that the pupils rightly understand and feel what they read; this 
secured, all the rest will take care of itself. 

\_From Dr. Johnson, 1765.] 

Let him that is yet unacquainted with the powers of Shakespeare, 
and who desires to feel the greatest pleasure that the drama can 
give, read every play, from the first scene to the last, with utter 
negligence to all his commentators. When his fancy is once on the 
wing, let it not stoop at correction or explanation. Let him read 
on through brightness and obscurity, through integrity and corrup- 
tion; let him preserve his comprehension of the dialogue, and his 
interest in the fable. And when the pleasures of novelty have 
ceased, let him attempt exactness, and read the commentators. 

\_From Professor Brainerd Kellogg.'] 

The student ought, first of all, to read the play as a pleasure; 
then to read over again, with his mind upon the characters and the 
plot; and, lastly, to read it for the meanings, grammar, etc. 

1. The Plot and Story of the Play. 

(a) The general plot ; 
Ih) The special incidents. 

2. The Characters : Ability to give a connected account of all that 

is done and most of what is said by each character in the 
play. 

3. The Influence and Interplay of the Characters upon each 

other. 

(a) Relation of A to B, and of B to A; 
(6) Eelation of A to C and D. 

4. Complete Possession of the Language. 

(a) Meanings of words ; 

(&) Use of old words, or of words in an old meaning; 

(c) Grammar; 

(d) Ability to quote lines to illustrate a grammatical point. 

5. Power to Reproduce, or Quote. 

(a) What was said by A or B on a particular occasion ; 
(&) What was said by A in reply to B ; 

(c) What argument was used by C at a particular juncture; 

(d) To quote a line in instance of an idiom or of a peculiar 

meaning. 



HOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITERATURE. 231 

6. Power to Locate. 

(a) To attribute a line or statement to a certain person on 

a certain occasion ; 
(6) To cap a line; 
(c) To fill in the right word or epithet. 

\_From BlaisdelVs " Outlines for the Study of English Classics."^ 

The following summary of points to be exacted . . . may prove 
useful : — 

I. — Points relative to substance. 

1. A general knowledge of the purport of the passages, and 

line of argument pursued. 

2. An exact paraphrase of parts of the whole, producing ex- 

actly and at length the author's meaning. 

3. The force and character of epithets. 

4. The meaning of similes, and expansions of metaphors. 

5. The exact meaning of individual words. 

II. — Points with regard to form. 

1. General grammar rules ; if necessary, peculiarities of Eng- 

lish grammar. 

2. Derivations : (1) General laws and principles of deriva- 

tions, including a knowledge of affixes and suffixes. (2) 
Interesting historical derivation of particular words. 

III. — The know^ledge of all allusions. 

IV. — A knowledge of such parallel passages and illustrations 

as the teacher has supplied. 



[From Professor Wm. Taylor Thorn, 1883.] 

To understand Shakespeare, we must understand his medium of 
thought, his language, as thoroughly as possible. For this, study 
is necessary ; and one notable advantage of the thorough studj^ of 
this medium is that the student becomes unconsciously more or less 
imbued with Shakespeare's turn of thought while observing his 
turn of phrase. . . . 

For the class-room, a non-assthetic, preliminary study is best. 
And this may be accomplished in the following way : By studying 
carefully the Text, — the words themselves and their forms ; their 
philological content, so far as such content is essential to the 
thought; and the grammatical differences of usage, then and now; 
by observing accurately the point of view of life ( Weltanschauung) 
historically and otherwise, as shown in the text; by taking what 
may be called the actor's view of the personages of the play; and, 
finally, by a sober and discriminating aesthetic discussion of the 
characters, of the principles represented by those characters, and 
of the play in its parts and as a whole. 



232 HOW TO STUDY ENOLISR LITERATURE. 

I. With regard to the words themselves and their forms : There is 
no doubt that Shakespeare's words and word-combinations need 
constant and careful explanation in order for the pupil to seize the 
thought accurately or even approximately. Here, as elsewhere, 
Coleridge's dictum remains true: "In order to get the full sense 
of a word, we should first present to our minds the visual image 
that forms its primary meaning." ... 

II. But this does not exhaust the interest of the words them- 
selves. They are frequently so full of a particular use and meaning 
of their own that they have evidently been chosen by Shakespeare 
on that account, and can only serve fully their purpose of conveying 
his meaning when themselves comprehended. This opens up to the 
pupil one of the most interesting aspects of words, — their function 
of embalming the ideas and habits of a past generation, thus giving 
little photographic views, as it were, of the course of the national 
life. Thus, a new element of interest and weird reality is added 
when we find that " And like a rat without a tail " is not stufied into 
the witch-speech in Macbeth merely for rhyme's sake {Mac. I, iii, 9). 
It is doubtful if anything brings so visibly before the mind's eye 
the age, and therefore the proper point of view, of Shakespeare as 
the accurate following-out of these implied views of life, these 
old popular beliefs contained in his picturesque language. . . . 

III. Difficulties consisting in the forms of words have been 
already mentioned ; but they constitute in reality only a part, per- 
haps the least part, of the grammatical impediment to our appre- 
hending Shakespeare clearly. There is in him a splendid superiority 
to what we call grammar which entails upon us more or less of 
close, critical observation of his word-order, if we would seize the 
very thought. Thus Lady Macbeth speaks of Macbeth's " fiaws 
and starts" as "impostors to true fear" (III, iv, 64). Here, if 
we understand "to" in its ordinary meaning, we lose entirely the 
fine force of its use by Shakespeare, " compared to true fear," and 
fail to see how subtly Lady Macbeth is trying to persuade Macbeth 
that there is no cause for fear, that he is not truly " afeard," but 
merely! hysterical and unbalanced; and, failing in that, we fail in 
part to realize the prodigious nerve and force she was herself dis- 
playing, though vainly, for Macbeth's sake. So, too, a few lines 
farther on, Macbeth's fine saying, " Ere humane statute purged the 
gentle weal," becomes finer when we see that " gentle" means for 
us " gentled," or " and made it gentle " (III, iv, 76). But for the 
apprehension of such, to us, unwonted powers in our noble mother 
tongue, we must study : work, that is the word for it. We appre- 
ciate Shakespeare, as we do other things, when he has cost us 
something. . . . 

ly. With such preliminary and coincident study, the pupil pre- 
pares herself for that wider sweep of vision called for by the views 
of life and of the universe expressed or implied by the dramatis 
perso7i(E themselves. The habit of mind thus acquired enables 
her to comprehend quickly the notions of God, of life, of creation 
( Weltanschauung) found in ante-protestant times ; and she is ready 
to sympathize with humanity, no matter as to age, or race, or 
clime. ... 



HOW TO STUDY ENGL.8H LITERATURE. 233 

V. Another prolific source of the realization of Shakespeare's 
conception is obtained by suggesting the actor's vieio to the pupil. 
There is much quickening of sympathy in representing to ourselves 
the look, the posture, emphasis, of the character who speaks. The 
same words have a totally difierent force according as they are pro- 
nounced ; and it is like a revelation to a pupil sometimes to learn 
that a speech, or even a word, was uttered thus and not so. . . . 

VI. Now, all this is preliminary work and should lead up to the 
aesthetic appreciation of Shakespeare's characters ; and to that end, 
real conceptions, right or wrong, are essential. Let it be distinctly 
understood: all study of words, of grammatical construction, of 
views of life peculiar to an age past, of bodily posture and gesture, 
— all are the preparation for the study of the characters themselves ; 
that is, of the p]^y itself; that is, of what Mr. Hudson calls the 
"Shakespeare of Shakespeare." If the student does not rise to 
this view of Shakespeare, she had better let Shakespeare alone and 
go at something else. In studying the lives of such men as Hamlet 
or Lear, and of such women as Lady Macbeth or Cordelia, it is of the 
utmost consequence that the attention of the pupil be so directed 
to their deeds and words, their expression and demonstration of 
feeling, — to the things, further, which they omit to say or do, — as 
to make the conception of personality as strong as possible. . . . 

For a class of boys or girls, I hold that the most effectual and 
rapid and profitable method of studying Shakespeare is for them 
to learn one play as thoroughly as their teacher can make them do 
it. Then they can read other plays with a profit and a pleasure 
unknown and unknowable, without such a previous drill and study. 

Applying now these principles, if such they can be called, my 
method of work is this. One of the plays is selected, and after 
some brief introductory matter, the class begins to study. Each 
pupil reads in turn a number of lines, and then is expected to give 
such explanations of the text as are to be found in the notes, sup- 
plemented by her own knowledge. She has pointed out to her such 
other matters also as may be of interest and are relevant to the text. 

When the play has been finished or when any character disap- 
pears from the play, — as Polonius in Hamlet, Duncan in Macbeth, 
the Fool in King Lear, — the class have all those passages in the 
play pointed out to them wherein this character appears or mention 
is made of him; and then, with this, Shakespeare's, biography of 
him before their eyes, they are required to write a composition — 
bane of pupils, most useful of teachers' auxiliaries — on this char- 
acter, without other aesthetic assistance or hints than they may have 
gathered from the teacher in the course of their study. This is to 
be their work, and to express their opinions of the man or the 
woman under discussion, and is to show how far they have suc- 
ceeded in retaining their thoughts and impressions concerning the 
character, and how far they wish to modify them under this review. 
They are thus compelled to realize what they do and do not think ; 
what they do and do not know ; in how far the character does or 
does not meet their approval, and why. That is, the pupils are 
compelled to pass judgment upon themselves along with the 
Shakespeare character. . . . 



234 SOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITERATURE, 

■ [From Prof. J. M. B. MeiUejohn's ''General Notice^'' 1879.] 

. . . The first purpose in this elaborate annotation is, of course, 
the full working out of Shakespeare's meaning. . . . This thorough 
excavation of the meaning of a really profound thinker is one of 
the very best kinds of training that a boy or girl can receive at 
school. . . . And always new rewards come to the careful reader — 
in the shape of new meanings, recognition of thoughts he had 
before missed, of relations between the characters that had hither- 
to escaped him. ... It is probable that, for those pupils who do 
not study either Greek or Latin, this close examination of every 
word and phrase in the text of Shakespeare will be the best substi- 
tute that can be found for the study of the ancient classics. 

It were much to be hoped that Shakespeare should become more 
and more of a study, and that every boy and girl should have a 
thorough knowledge of at least one play of Shakespeare before 
leaving school. It would be one of the best lessons in human life, 
without the chance of a polluting or degrading experience. It 
would also have the effect of bringing back into the too pale and 
formal English of modern times a large number of pithy and vigor- 
ous phrases, which would help to develop as well as to reflect 
vigor in the characters of the readers. Shakespeare used the 
English language with more power than any other writer that ever 
lived — he made it do more and say more than it had ever done ; he 
made it speak in a more original way; and his combinations of 
words are perpetual provocations and invitations to originality and 
to newness of insight. 



From all that has been quoted from the foregoing authorities, it 
may justly be inferred that somehow or other the pupil must be 
made to feel an interest in the author, to admire what is admirable 
in the composition, and really to enjoy its study. Secure this, and 
all else will follow as a matter of course : fail in this, and the time 
is wasted. 

The following suggestions ,i or some of them, may be helpful in 
daily class-work : — 

1. At the beginning of the exercise, or as often as need be, require 

a statement of — 

(a) The main object of the author in the whole poem, ora- 
tion, play, or other production of which to-day's lesson is a 
part. 

(6) The object of the author in this particular canto, chap- 
ter, act, or other division of the main work. 

2. Read or recite from memory (or have the pupils do it) the finest 

part or parts of the last lesson. The elocutionary talent of 
the class should be utilized here, so that the author may appear 
at his best. 

1 See Suggestions to Teachers, in Sprague's edition of the First Two Books of 
Paradise Lost and Lycidas. 

LB Mr I: D 



ROW TO STUDY ENOLISH LITERATURE. 235 

3. Kequire at times (often enough to keep the whole fresh in mem- 

ory) a resume of the ' argument,' story, or succession of 
topics, up to the present lesson. 

4. Have the student read aloud the sentence, paragraph, or lines, 

now (or previously) assigned. The appointed portion should 
have some unity. 

5. Let the student interpret exactly the meaning by substituting 

his own words : explain peculiarities. This paraphrase should 
often be in loriting. 

6. Let him state the immediate object of the author in these lines. 

Is this object relevant? important? appropriate in this place? 

7. Let him point out the ingredients (particular thoughts) that 

make up the passage. Are they in good taste? just? natural? 
well arranged? 

8. Let him point out other merits or defects, — anything note- 

worthy as regards nobleness of principle or sentiment, grace, 
delicacy, beauty, rhythm, sublimity, wit, wisdom, humor, na- 
tvete, kindliness, pathos, energy, concentrated truth, logical 
force, originality; give allusions, kindred passages, principles 
illustrated, etc. 

Passages of special interest may well be made the basis of lan- 
guage lessons and of rhetorical drill. For example, a pupil might 
be required to master thoroughly the first twenty lines of Macbeth's 
soliloquy, Act I, so. vii, 1-20, and then to prepare an oral or written 
exercise upon them somewhat as follows : — 

1. Memorize the lines and recite them with proper vocal expression. 

2. (a) Explain any unusual or difiicult words and sentences. 

(&) Translate the passage into equivalent English, using, as far 

as possible, different words, 
(c) Point out its merits and defects, quoting parallel passages. 

3. Call for criticisms by the class. 

The pupil proceeds somewhat like this : 

^ {a) "Done" appears to be used in two senses in the first 
line; the first "done " meaning ended, the second meaning per- 
formed. Richard Grant White puts a period after " well "; and, 
beginning the next sentence with " It were done (^. e. ended) 
quickly," he puts a comma after ' quickly '. I think this is in- 
genious, but that it involves virtual tautology; for it would say 
in effect, " It were ended quickly, if there were no conse- 
quences". "Trammel" is an old word for net or shackle. 
"Trammel up" seems to mean " gather up as in a fish net". 
The word "catch" seems to continue the idea of fishing, and 
this perhaps suggested the words " bank and shoal ", if we are 
to read " shoal " in line 6. " His " in the 4th line appears to be 
used for its, the latter word being not yet well introduced into 
the English language in Shakespeare's time. "Surcease "is 
from Latin supersedere, through the French surseoir, and seems 
to mean cessation. "Be-all" and "end-all" illustrate Shake- 
speare's skill and boldness in word-coining. "Bank and 
school." The editors have generally changed "school" to 
"shoal". It is difllcult to assign any satisfactory meaning to 



236 SOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



shoal, unless we adopt the imagery drawn from fishl'-o-f it is 
commonly supposed that Shakespeare here represent? 'me as a 
narrow isthmus, or at least as a narrow sandbank, in the ocean of 
eternity; but this would tend to belittle the present time, whereas 
he desires here to magnify it. Perhaps here is an instantaneous 
transition from one metaphor to another. Shakespeare is fond 
of metaphors drawn from school-keeping; and that this is one of 
them is somewhat confirmed by the ninth and tenth lines, in 
which are the words " teach bloody instructions, which being 
taught ", etc. " Jump " appears to mean risk. " Ingredience ", 
11th line, is mixture. The editors generally have changed it to 
* ingredients ', which would imply that the constituents of the 
compound remain separate. " Chalice " is so often used of the 
communion cup as to suggest that the murder partakes of the 
character of sacrilege. " Double ", in the 12th line, is perhaps 
not so good a word as triple would have been. In the 16th line, 
nearly all the editors join "this" to "Duncan". But such a 
use of the demonstrative seems odd. It singles out Duncan as if 
he were little known, or needed to be distinguished from other 
Duncans! " Clear " in the 18th line seems to mean blameless. 
" Trumpet-tongued " is perhaps suggested by the Scripture 
passages that speak of angels sounding trumpets, as in the 8th 
and 9th chapters of Revelations. " Taking-ofl " in line 20 is a 
euphemisn for murder. 

[b) Provided the deed could be actually ended at the time of 
its doing, in that case it would be desirable to perform it speed- 
ily. Provided the murder could gather up as in a net the re- 
sults, and snatch a prosperous conclusion at the instant of its 
cessation; provided this mere stroke could constitute the en- 
tirety of the affair, and its complete termination in this world, 
barely in this world, upon this bench and upon this life's insti- 
tute of instruction, I should be willing to risk the existence after 
death. Unfortunately we always meet sentence in this life, in 
effect inculcating murderous teachings, that, having been im- 
parted, come back to torment the originator. The impartial 
goddess puts the mixture of the envenomed cup to our own 
mouths. Duncan is with me in twofold confidence : to begin 
with, because I am his relation and his liegeman, each of the 
two a potent motive against the commission of the act; next, 
because I am his entertainer, that ought to close the gate in the 
face of the assassin, instead of carrying the dagger in my own 
hand. Furthermore, the King has exercised his official powers 
so modestly, has lived so blamelessly in his lofty station, that 
his merits will beseech like heavenly spirits with clarion voices 
in condemnation of the profound diabolism of his removal. 

(c) In this soliloquy, Macbeth brings up to his own mind 
the arguments against committing the murder. It is not so 
much the essential wickedness of the act, as the fear of the 
consequences, that deters him. He has noticed that even in 
this life, crime recoils upon the perpetrator. Then he names 
circumstances which make the fact particularly atrocious. 



HOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITERATURE 237 

Last.Jie imagines how the horrible wickedness of the crime 
wilrv ^e enhanced in men's estimation by the acknowledged 
virtaps of the good king. — Merit of the passage? Defects? 
Similar passages? 
4. Criticisms and opinions of the class are called for. 



The foregoing crude treatment of this passage, supplemented by 
the judicious comments of the teacher, may illustrate what we believe 
to be one of the best possible exercises for giving fullness and accu- 
racy in language and for cultivating the taste. The rendering of a 
celebrated passage into exactly equivalent words furnishes, to a 
large extent, the same excellent discipline that is afforded by trans- 
lating from a classical author. It will be found, upon inspection, 
that our notes are prepared with a view to such exercises. Some- 
times interpretations that are very nearly equivalent are given, in 
order that a nicety of taste and a felicity of expression may be de- 
veloped in choosing among them. Care must be taken, however, 
not to push these or any other class exercises so far into detail as to 
render them uninteresting, or to withdraw attention from the great 
features of the play. It must ever be borne in mind that it is of vital 
importance to make the student enjoy this study. 



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